The Magic of Pyreflies
by darkerthanshadows
Summary: Can love come out of Spira's endless cycle of death? A retelling of our beloved story told in four perspectives. Aurikku and Tidus/Yuna.
1. City that Never Sleeps

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Hello, everyone. I'm new here, and this is my first fanfiction. I have about nineteen pre-written chapters and may upload every three days.**

 **Chapter 1: City that Never Sleeps**

 _ **Auron**_

Zanarkand.

They call it the "City that Never Sleeps".

In a sense, it literally never sleeps. Not that it doesn't want to, but that is, it doesn't have to. Because it is powered by machina day and night, this city's citizens enjoy the freedom of pleasure that stems from being unburdened by human labor and its restrictions.

Fancy a movie with popcorn and soda along with your chick at 3 in the morning? No problem, the cinemas can cater to you. Want to settle a bet through blitzball with your mates at the stroke of midnight? Easy. The sphere arenas can cater to your every blitzball whim.

In all honesty, it really isn't all that bad. There is crime, yes. All cities have that. But there is some good here too. And I had made good acquaintances here during my stay.

But none that I would really call friends. No, it is always best to keep a low profile. Besides the people I truly call friends? One is dead, and the other is not what you would call alive.

Anyhow, watching over and raising _his_ son isn't that bad as I thought it would be as well. Oh, there were times that he had been a big pain in the ass over the past ten years, yet now he is everything his father could have imagined. This is another story to tell.

A star blitzball player now, but a crybaby, still? No, I haven't seen him cry for five years now. He's come a long way. And I am proud of him.

But the worst part isn't over yet.

His father and I have come to destroy his beloved city and to take _him_ to Spira. Welcome home, Jecht, my old friend. This I believe is not the welcome back party your people would have expected.

Will the kid cry over this? Somehow I don't want to find out. Because perhaps, if I were in his shoes at his age, maybe I would have.

People who knew me are now calling my name for help from the streets on this east side of town. They're panicking, screaming. Who wouldn't be? There's a giant fiend on the waters of the bay area shooting off its many spawns towards the buildings. The structures don't even stand a chance. The City Hall. The Fire Brigade Station. The Zanarkand Metropolitan Museum. They all crumble one by one. Some people are even trapped inside. The sirens of the calamity first responders are blaring. People at the parks stand still, shock written all over their faces at what's happening around them. Dust, smoke, and fire are everywhere. No one can make sense of this. And I just walk by dodging the falling debris, until I am standing at the entrance of the Zanarkand Blitzball Arena 2. The Arena 1 is already caving in.

"Auron!" He sees me, fright and relief marring his face. He looks up and finally realizes what the commotion is all about. A giant fiend is attacking his city.

"We call it Sin."

"Sin?" He asks, dumbfounded.

"We can't stay here. We have to move." I tell him, and he nods and follows obediently. We run through a couple avenues and then move to a highroad, never minding the people who were running on the opposite direction. That is when the fiends caught us. I throw him the extra sword I was carrying.

"A gift from Jecht," I say to him, "I hope you know how to use it."

We cut through the fiends that were blocking us. One by one they disappear into pyreflies. I smile at the kid as he tried to swing the sword and attack. Something is awfully wrong with his footing, but it delivers a death blow. I remind myself that I have to train him once we are in Spira.

Then we encounter more fiends. More than we can handle. I look to my surroundings to see if there is something that could help us. What luck, there is a power station generator lying on the right. I ask the kid to keep hitting it, while I defend him from the fiends. On his last assault on the power generator, it blows up and takes part of the highroad with it. We run, jumping from one falling structure to another. I reach a ledge, but the kid was barely hanging on it. Sin is hovering close to us.

"This is it. This is your story. It all begins here." I tell the kid as I lift him up. I feel the energy of Sin drawing us to him, like a vacuum in space-a blackhole.

This city's time for illusions is now over.

Let the truth become everyone's story.


	2. Saved for a Moment

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **Chapter 2: Saved for a Moment**

 _ **Rikku**_

We were only there to salvage some machina.

It could have been anything, from someone's thousand year-old broken hair dryer to a speeder with no handlebars. Things like that were already a good find. Most of the time we find something useless like a piece of melted tire. But hey, don't you roll your eyes on me, never heard of that phrase that says another man's trash could be another man's treasure?

What we didn't expect though was to find another human being inside the temple ruins–a blonde kid a few years older than me fighting a lizard fiend. It freaked out my cousins, you know. And good 'ol Rikku had to save the day and the blonde kid's ass. After that we took him to our ship, and I had to shake my head as my brother, Brother (that is his real name really, which is another story), had to charade just to get Blondie to understand that he has to help us recover the big prize of a machina resting underneath our ship. Lucky for them, I speak fluent Spiran so Blondie didn't have to pull all his hair out in trying to understand Brother.

So, we dove underneath the sea and tried to switch on the power station holding the machina we'd like to recover. Of course, we didn't think it would be that easy. An octopus fiend found its way to us. Good thing there was two of us. If it were just me, it would have been bye-bye Rikku. Blondie held his own as well. I noticed he was good at underwater fights, as if he was a blitzer. Maybe he was. Gotta remember to ask him that when we come up. After finishing off the octopus fiend, we went back to the ship. All smiles and congratulations from my Brother and cousins. Guess what the big prize of a machina was? A rusty, broken airship covered in molds, coral reefs, and seaweeds. Doesn't sound like much? Hey, if anyone can make it operational again, it would be my Pops, the Al Bhed's leader and master mechanic. A little bit of my help wouldn't hurt either. Didn't I say I was the Al Bhed's resident machina genius? It wouldn't make it in time for Operation Mi'ihen though, but what do they say–never put all your eggs in one basket.

I remembered Blondie, so I went back to him to give him food. He must have been really starving because he wolfed down on what I gave him and almost choked. But after that, he was as happy as someone who got high on Gagazet weeds. We talked and introduced ourselves. Tidus was his name. Then I must have heard the weirdest story I have ever heard for the longest time. He said that he's from Zanarkand. Yeah, _the_ Zanarkand. You know the city that's supposed to be destroyed a thousand years ago… and whose remains we try to salvage from again and again sometimes. Gee, I hope we didn't accidentally anger some invisible Tonberry along the way and have this sent as our karma.

Because he really believed in what he said. Like how he is the star player of Zanarkand Abes, and Sin came and destroyed _his_ Zanarkand.

And if I were some idiot who slept in all of my History of Spira classes, I would've believed him. But no, we chalked it up as him acting all loony because he got too close to some Sin spawn. Sin's toxin. Yeah, maybe that's the case.

He said he was a blitzball player. I hoped someone will recognize him when we drop him off in Luca.

But for some reason, Sin attacked our ship, and we lost him at sea.

I hoped he still made it somewhere, but I realized in Spira, hope doesn't really get that far.


	3. In Between

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **Chapter 3: In Between**

 _ **Auron**_

The problem with traveling across dimensions through Sin was you never know where you end up.

That was what happened the first time I travelled through Sin–no, with Jecht–to Zanarkand. I think I woke up in a fishing boat. The captain said they found me floating along the deep ends of the sea, and they threw their nets at me just to get me.

This time? Waking up on a king-sized bed in a room filled with chocobo-patterned curtains wasn't what I had in mind, but it was better than getting washed up on some unknown Spiran shore. I heard the door open, and a blonde-haired Al Bhed walked towards me.

"Ah, I see you are now awake." He said, and he pulled the chair that was tucked neatly below a dresser and sat.

"Where am I?" I sat up, my legs feeling like they were made of gelatin.

"Calm Lands." He replied. "One of my chocobo herders found you unconscious at The Scar. You gave them quite a fright too. It isn't everyday that a Legendary Guardian gets seen in these lands accompanied by Sin."

His voice was lightly laced with suspicion. I didn't mind it. People can fabricate stories over their deductions regarding the Legendary Guardian and Sin. It will just be another tale.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Sin was momentarily here, hanging out on the waters beyond the cliffs, as recounted by my herders. And yet he never harmed anyone. Not even a fly."

"It must be suffering from a mood swing."

"Even so, we considered ourselves luckier than a person who had amassed fifty luck spheres." He said, an amused expression on his face. "Ah, I seem to have forgotten my manners. I'm Rin, owner of the several Travel Agencies across Spira. I am pleased to be at your service, Sir Auron."

"Please. Just Auron." I always cringed at the appellation the Yevon Church added to my name. As if it was enough consolation for the price of losing my two best friends.

"Auron, then. You know, this isn't the first time that we have met."

I found his statement interesting. I was sure that I have never met him before. I raised an eyebrow and gestured for him to continue.

"I found you severely wounded down the base of Gagazet once, months after the start of the last Calm. My staff and I did our best to tend to your injuries. There was quite a lot. I was surprised to see you gone the next day though."

"I see." So he was there when I crawled my way down Gagazet after Yunalesca defeated and nearly killed me. My mind immediately searched for a seemingly plausible excuse that was not far from the truth. "I was attacked by a fiend. Forgive me, I hardly remember that day. Perhaps I left so that I would not impose on you any longer."

"No matter. Though I am glad that we found you today without a scratch on you. I prepared a meal. If you would be so kind to continue our conversation in the dining area." Rin said. I supposed he had lots of questions for me. Like where I had been for the last ten years and what I had been doing. Normal questions. But they are the ones I usually preferred not to answer.

"Thank you for your generosity, but I'm leaving immediately." I stood up and grabbed my red coat that hung by the coat rack. Already, my mind is telling me that the plan started badly. I didn't factor getting separated from the kid. I had to find Tidus and find him quickly.

"Then I will prepare the best of our chocobos for you." Rin nodded, a bit dejected that we couldn't converse more.

"Thank you. I would require some supplies too."

"Of course." He said, before stepping out of the room.

"Wait." I called out to Rin, and he stopped just before the ajar door. "What date is it now?"

Rin's eyebrows furrowed. I knew he was thinking about how in the world I could forget today's date, aside from the fact that I got washed up on Calm Lands accompanied by Sin. Nevertheless, he said the date with a rueful smile, "First day of the 2nd week of Spring. The Blitzball Playoffs is right around the corner."

Yes, the Blitzball tournament was usually held on the third week of Spring. I wondered if that's where I'll find Tidus. I had to go to Luca to find out. Already my mind was preparing itself for the journey to the major city.

"Thank you." I said to Rin.

He went outside of the room, and I followed him within a few moments after I straightened my coat. Once outside of the agency, I took a deep breath, examining carefully my surroundings. There was a chocobo pen on my right. My eyes gazed over beyond the agency behind me. The mountains of Gagazet was looming over me. On my left were the famous cliffs of Calm Lands. The Scar was the battle ground of the Summoner using the final Aeon to defeat Sin.

Welcome back to Spira, Auron. It's been a long time.

I looked up to the sky with my one good eye, saw the sun shining, and squinted. I noticed I didn't have my usual eyewear.

Yes, I would also need new sunglasses.


	4. Blitzball Life

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **Chapter 4: Blitzball Life**

 _ **Tidus**_

I took it all in like a good sportsman.

Like what they say in Zanarkand, if life throws you a blitzball at a different curvature, kick it with the type of spin you want it to do next.

And I had been kicking different spinning blitzballs that were thrown at me one after the other.

Trapped in a temple ruins all by myself? Yeah, I kicked that blitzball with a spin to the left, making sure that the loneliness that I felt in that place was as far from me as possible.

Got saved by Al Bhed's, then attacked by Sin again? I think I kicked this blitzball angrily as it rightfully deserved the Jecht Shot Mark III. Because just when I thought I had the handle on things, the rug was pulled from under my feet yet again.

Ended up in an island, drafted into some unknown team, then off to play in a tournament in Zanarkand knows where? This one blitzball I kicked with my own special spinning shot. And the Aurochs were beyond amazed by what I can do.

Yes, it may be crude, but I was playing blitzball with whatever life throws at me here in Spira.

I used to only know one person in this strange world. It was Rikku, the kind Al Bhed girl who rescued me from the temple ruins I was in. Now that Sin again attacked the boat we were in after we recovered the machina the Al Bhed wanted, I was washed up in some island yet again.

There I started to meet other people.

The first was Wakka. A ginger-head who saw me by the shore. His team, the Aurochs, were practicing blitzball at that time. We got along pretty quickly, since we shared the same passion for the game. I don't know why, but he was very kind to me even when he barely knew me. Maybe because he wanted me on his team, since there was this huge tournament coming up. He mentioned the city, Luca, and I remembered the same thing Rikku said. He said someone's bound to recognize me there. Somehow, I doubted there was.

We were about to go to the village when Wakka stopped me. He showed me how the prayer to Yevon goes, just so I would know, keeping in mind that maybe Sin's toxin made me forget. He bent one of his knees lightly and raised both of his arms and motioned them to a circle at the front of his middle. I almost shook my head in disbelief, but I willed myself not to. The prayer thing? In my Zanarkand, that was the blitzball sign for victory.

Blitzball and Sin. It was the only thing _my_ Zanarkand and this world have in common. I was thinking that Sin took me a thousand years into the future, because Rikku said Zanarkand was destroyed a thousand years ago. I asked Wakka about this, wanting to make sure and to have a grasp on things. He only answered that a long time ago people lived in machina cities and let the machina do all the work. Then Sin came and destroyed the machina cities, along with Zanarkand. Then he said something about repentance and atonement that I didn't quite understand. Nevertheless, it confirmed what Rikku said to me. The Zanarkand of this world was only rubble now.

They both couldn't be lying, could they? But the connection was there, and I could not deny it. Maybe if I could get to Sin again, then maybe, just maybe, something would work reverse and I could go home. I wondered where Auron was. He was the last person I saw when we were near Sin. Was he somewhere in Spira as well? I didn't know the answer. So for now, I'd go along with Wakka, and probably hope for the best.

And then I met _her_.

I wasn't supposed to, and I must have done a taboo when I entered the Cloister thing inside that temple without understanding what it was for. Summoner, Guardians, I didn't understand the words, but I had thought someone was trapped inside, and I rushed in like an idiot. But when she came out of the chamber… I must have seen the most perfect being in existence.

She was beautiful–not the kind you see in Zanarkand's fashion magazines, no. Those faces filled with colored make-ups seemed superficial compared to her. Her face displayed purity, unblemished and filled with elegance. Her eyes shone with serenity and kindness, though if you look closely, you will see a hint of sorrow, as if she had suffered silently. She smiled at me lightly as the blue, beast-like guy helped her as she walked.

Wakka nudged me on my side and dragged me outside. I wondered what the commotion was all about. But she was there, and she twirled her staff, and then out of nowhere a huge, red, flying beast came down. Everyone clapped at this. The beast was magnificent to look at. It was gentle yet powerful. That's when I learned what a Summoner and an Aeon was.

We didn't get to talk that much afterwards that day. We just exchanged our names, and I found out that hers was Yuna. The lady in black was Lulu, and the blue beast-like guy was Kimahri. Wakka, Lulu, and Kimahri were there as Guardians to accompany Yuna on a pilgrimage to defeat Sin. What happens on this pilgrimage, I had no clue. Come to think of it, how does one beat Sin, anyway? I wanted to ask, but I held my tongue.

We were on the boat to Kilika though, when Yuna asked me about Zanarkand among other things.

"You're a blitzball player, aren't you? From Zanarkand, right?" She asked, her face bright and without derision.

"You hear that from Wakka? Wakka doesn't believe me at all."

"But I believe you! I've heard, in Zanarkand... there is a great stadium, all lit up even at night! Great blitzball tournaments are held there, and the stands are always full!"

"How do you know that?" I was taken aback by her description. It did sounded like the Zanarkand I knew.

"A man named Jecht told me. He was my father's guardian." She said, a hint of sadness lacing in her voice.

I couldn't believe my ears though. Could it be the same person I know? "My father...his name is Jecht!" I told her.

"Amazing! You know, our meeting like this must be the blessing of Yevon!"

I shook my head. My old man, a Guardian? And here, stuck in Spira like me? What were the odds? "Sounds like him, but it can't be him."

"Why not?" Yuna asked, a bit downcast that I did not believe in the probability.

"My old man, he died. Ten years ago. Off the coast of Zanarkand. He went out to sea for training one day...and never came back. And no one's seen him since."

"Why, that's the day that Jecht came to Spira. It's true! I first met Jecht ten years and three months ago! I remember, that was the day my father left. The date fits, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, but how would he get here?" I asked her, my mind overwhelmed with the revelations we were both uncovering.

She looked back at me with a knowing smile. "You're here, are you not?"

I wanted to say something more. To make her think that maybe the whole thing was just a strange coincidence. I couldn't believe that my old man got stuck here in Spira like me ten years ago. The facts were there but it just didn't seem possible. But then the boat shook and a big wave splashed over the decks. A few seconds after, a giant, gray fin can be seen gliding along the waters beside the boat.

It was Sin. And he was about to attack the neighboring island Kilika. The boat men panicked. In a last act of desperation, they threw harpoons at the gray fin, but with the strength of Sin, the ropes snapped.

There was no escaping it. Sin was headed towards Kilika, and no one, not one soul, could do anything about it.

Remember what I told you about playing blitzball with whatever life throws at me here in Spira? This was the time that the game wasn't fair. The time that I'm barely winning.

Kilika was a wreck when we arrived. So many homes destroyed, so many lives lost. And Yuna danced. Lulu told me it was a dance for sending the souls of the dead to the Farplane. Oh, and Yuna danced and danced until all those wailing, poor souls of the dead would be sent to peace. When she was done, tears were flowing from her eyes.

I hated it. Every second of it.

Something so graceful shouldn't be hated. But I did hate it, and somehow in my heart, I wished she never dance that dance again, because it would have meant more catastrophes like this.

I didn't know what I'll find in Luca. I didn't even know if I have the heart to play blitzball anymore. But if I didn't go with them, who should I go to, or where should I go?

Somehow, despite the tragedy, being with them felt like it was where I was meant to be.


	5. The Harbinger

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **Chapter 5: The Harbinger**

 _ **Auron**_

It wasn't that hard to find them. Or maybe I just had lady luck on my side.

Well, I had a hunch from the start that Tidus would be drafted into some team eventually once somebody gets a hold of him and he shows his blitzball skills in this world. That's why I headed to Luca first for the seasonal blitzball playoffs hoping that my prediction came true.

It took me a day to get across the Calm Lands with a chocobo I rented from the Travel Agency where I bought some food and supplies. Then I passed Macalania, the Thunderplains, Guadosalam, and Moonflow in another five days. I rarely made a stop, slept only for a few hours from midnight to the break of dawn, and ate food as I rode the chocobo. This was probably the fastest travel I ever made in six days. I arrived in the Mi'ihen - Luca junction on the seventh day, tired and wanting a warm bed and real food. I patted my chocobo and released him back to the wild. It was the opening day of the Blitzball Playoffs. I arrived just in time.

I walked along the streets of Luca with a familiar knowledge. These were the streets I hadn't seen in ten years, but for some reason, they still looked the same. There was a reason behind this. The Yevon Church always had a budget on repairing the city as quickly as possible should ever Sin attack this major city. Why? Well, because the only Blitzball stadium in Spira was here and they cannot take away the only past time a local Spiran has ever known. What would Spira be without Blitzball? While I had not always been a fan, losing it wasn't something I would want to imagine. The players were as popular and equally respected as the Yevon priests. The whole of Spira would probably revolt against the Yevon capital, Bevelle, if even Blitzball became forbidden.

I entered the café and braced myself to the reaction of the people inside. No matter what people said about fame and legends, I never really liked them. Less than a few minutes ago, people in the streets were already noticing me. I heard their whispers. Yes, it's the legendary guardian of the last Calm. You know, the one who had disappeared and never showed up for the last ten years. The Red Guard. The best of the best of the Bevelle Black Corps. It was nothing I haven't heard before. I felt the stares even as I moved to the far corner of the café and ordered some sake and a T-bone steak. Imagine my surprise on what I saw on the café's television screen though.

There was Mika being welcomed as he departed from his boat along with a blue-haired Guado. But after that few clips, there they were–Tidus and Yuna together along with the Besaid Aurochs team, a lady in black, a blue Ronso who I knew by heart, and a young man with a red hair trailing behind. And she was introduced as a Summoner. Little Yuna, a Summoner. Who knew? She was far too young for it. I still remember her scrawny, five -year old arms wrapping around my neck when I gave her a piggy-back ride along the Bevelle Zoo Braska and I took her to more than a decade ago. Her being a Summoner–this was not what I had expected. But perhaps, fate had a different idea in mind.

The original plan was to come and get Tidus from whatever situation he was in and find a Summoner to offer our guardianship. What about Sin and Jecht? Well, we would have to just cross that bridge when we get to the ruined Zanarkand and face that snake-face of a lady, Yunalesca. But now that I learned Yuna was a Summoner, it seemed to have more sense to travel with her in her pilgrimage. That way I could fulfill both of my promises, instead of just taking Tidus and guarding another Summoner.

I did wonder what motivated Yuna to become a Summoner though. She of all people knew the sacrifice of embarking on that journey. Did she just want to follow her father's footsteps? If I had been by her side, instead of having Kimahri guard her, would she still sway in that direction? Was she already prepared to face what will greet her once she reached Zanarkand? I was mulling over these questions that I did not notice the ticket officer handing me my gate pass to the blitzball stadium. I took the gate pass from her and found my seat on the stands. A snack vendor passed by me, and I politely declined as he asked me if I'd like to buy some hotdog and soda. I smiled nostalgically. Some things never change in watching Blitzball. Even in Zanarkand they had those. And Tidus would always want one every time we went together to watch the Zanarkand Blitzball Association season games.

It was the Besaid Aurochs playing now versus the Al Bhed Psyches. The two weren't the most popular teams in Spira, but they played a fair enough game that people in the stands still cheered for them. The man with the red hair brought the game to a closure with a buzzer-beating goal. The announcer was stunned. I'm guessing the Aurochs never won that much. After an hour, they were going to face the defending champions, a team called Luca Goers.

I wondered where Tidus was. He was part of the Aurochs, but he never played in that game.

To be honest, as I had said earlier, I was never really fond of Blitzball. But I learned to like it as I watched Tidus play over ten years. The kid loved it with a passion, as if he was more than married to the game. Back in Zanarkand, I encouraged him when he needed it, never missing any of the games he was playing, because I knew it was his only outlet. And the way he played wasn't how Jecht played as I remembered. Yes, he had his father's techniques–the kid must have spent a thousand hours watching spherecasts of his father doing the Jecht Shot–but he played with a grace no one could match. Jecht played with force, knocking opponents down and beating them with sheer strength. Tidus played as if he was dancing to the rhythm of the game.

And that was what I saw again in the Luca Blitzball Stadium as the Aurochs fought to win the cup against the Luca Goers. Tidus would swim as fast as he could with the ball, the defenders would block him or tackle him, but he would always do an unexpected pass to one of his teammates beforehand. And when the ball got passed back to him, he would kick the ball with a spin he perfected from ten thousand hours of practice–like a fighter's vicious left hook. If he missed, Aurochs would start another play. Defending man to man, stealing, and then continuous passing. Cheerers of the Goers were stunned by this. The Aurochs was up by 1 to 0 at half-time. But the crowd was chanting some other person's name I don't know.

Tidus left the blitzball arena and was replaced by the red-haired man who lead the Aurochs on their game before with the Psyches. Ah, so he was stepping down to let another man play the game. Jecht would never have done that. This was another trait of Tidus. No matter how many fans cheered and chanted his name in dream Zanarkand, he still had humility inside of him. I'll tell him that I approve of this trait of his one day.

The man the crowd was cheering for wasn't as good as Tidus, but he had determination and was capable of stealing the ball from the forwards of the other team and conducting a perfectly executed fast-break. Before people knew it, the Aurochs had won the cup by 2 to 1 to everyone's amazement.

And then fiends suddenly appeared in the stadium.

Everybody was scrambling for their lives. There were screams and panic everywhere. Tidus and the red-ha ired man left the blitzball field. I followed them to see if they would lead me to where Yuna was.

We met face to face at the stand's first level of bleachers at the south wing.

"Auron!" Tidus shouted, shock and relief displayed on his face upon seeing me.

"No time for greetings. We fight!" I told him as I unsheathed my broad katana.

I used the time to exercise my swordsmanship and took out some fiends. Tidus and the red-haired man weren't that bad at all. The latter took out the flyers, and the former took out those swift dingos.

Then something like thunder resounded in the stadium. That's when I first saw the blue-haired Guado use his Aeon. A zombie-looking, locked-in-chains Aeon he called Anima.

He finished off the rest of the fiends with non-elemental blasts of pain from his Aeon. That Seymour. Yes, I think that was his name as mentioned by the broadcast I've seen from the café television.

Something in my gut tells me he'll be some trouble in the future. Come to think of it, where did the fiends in the stadium come from? The Guado knew their way behind fiends, it was their primary weapon. Can you smell the conspiracy? It will be no good to worry about the Guado Maester at this moment though. When it interferes with my mission, I'll deal with him myself.

It was time I assemble the team.

 **AN: Many thanks for the kind reviews for chapter 4. I always have fun writing Tidus, and I hope you'd like the coming perspectives I wrote for him. Here's a shout-out to you,** **fanficlove2014** **and** **CupofTeaforAliceandHatter!**


	6. The Promise

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **AN: Does it seem like Yuna is missing? Don't worry she'll show up in the next chapter. :) Many thanks for the kind reviews on chapter 5. I appreciate it, guys, even the anonymous one. Cheers!**

 **Chapter 6: The Promise**

 _ **Tidus**_

I would have punched him square in the face. Maybe give his one good eye a black eye and have his eyesight temporarily compromised behind his dark sunglasses.

I should have, but I didn't. Did that say something about me? Did it make me seem more mature? I had no idea. But I screamed and screamed at his face that this was all his fault.

Everything.

Losing Zanarkand. Getting swallowed by Sin. Being trapped here in Spira.

Yes, it was all his fault. But he just laughed at me; a deep, dark laugh, akin to a person who suddenly had something ironic happen to him. It was the kind of laugh you could belt out when you win the 10 Million Gil jackpot of the Zanarkand Mega Lottery only to find out that you have contracted the One-Week Deadly Virus. Because it was just as the name says it was. You would only have one week to live.

I should be glad that he was here in Spira. It should have made me feel safer and more secure. Because that was what Auron had been for me for the past ten years. He was my old pal, my friend, my confidant even when I was still a child. He was always watching over me, ready to help and be there when there was no one else. But now it felt like I did not know him anymore. It was as if there was another Auron who was right in front of me. Was I to blame that I never asked about who he really was when we were still in Zanarkand? Would he have told me the truth back then?

I did not know. But I asked him the question now.

"I knew Jecht and Yuna's father, Braska. Together we defeated Sin ten years ago. Then I went to Zanarkand to watch over you. So that I could bring you to Spira." Auron answered. His deep voice was calm, as if he was just talking about the weather.

"Why did it have to be me?" I asked, a bit sullenly.

"Jecht asked me to."

"Is he alive?" I remembered what Yuna said. That maybe Auron knew where my old man was.

He looked away from me and stared at the crates on the dock. "It depends on what you mean by being alive. He is… no longer human.

"Tidus, Jecht is… Sin." He looked back at me the moment the words fell out of his mouth. I thought I'd never see the day when Auron would bear affliction on his face. My days with him in Zanarkand were filled with hilarity and laughter, despite our occasional fights and shared tragedies. Now though… it was as if all the sadness in the world rained on him.

"What the…? No, that's impossible! I don't believe you!" I screamed at him. How in the world did that happen? My old man was Sin? Was this some kind of sick joke? I didn't know. I used to be fine not knowing things, but not this time.

"Nothing is impossible. I felt him on that shell. You must have felt him too. You'll see for yourself soon enough." And his face went back to that calm exterior he often showed to other people, the one he often used to hide his sorrow.

He said he was going to offer Yuna his guardianship on her pilgrimage. He left me with two choices: stay or join him. Was there really a choice? I had to go with him; I had to, or else I'll be stuck here and just grow roots out of my own two feet. The weight of the reality he told me was too much though. I wanted to scream and scream out loud. Instead, I crouched at where I was standing, and like a kid, I closed my eyes and put two hands on my ears, willing to block his previous words about my old man from my head. I wanted to keep telling myself that this was all a bad dream. That maybe a few seconds from now, I'd wake up back in Zanarkand, practice blitzball, and maybe have a few pints with my teammates. But the snap back to reality that often accompanies dreaming never came.

I growled loudly in frustration. I almost wanted to grab my hair and tear it out.

"Irritating, I know. Or are you afraid?" He was beside me in an instant. His free hand reached out to my shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. "It's alright."

It's alright. That's what he said when he stood by me and I cried and cried under the pouring rain at my mom's funeral. It's alright. That's what he said when I missed a penalty shot one time in a middle school blitzball game, and my teammates were putting me down. It's alright. That's what he said when I told him I couldn't go to any Zanarkand university anymore because I failed three of my subjects at the Certificate of Secondary Education Test.

It's alright. I didn't block that out from my head. Just two simple words. How many lost and struggling people in my Zanarkand were straining to hear those exact words? But Auron never withheld them from me. Coming from him, my old pal for the past ten years, it would always give me the strength to carry on because there was no judgment on it. I always took it as a gesture of his where he accepted me as I am. And I treasured it, because I knew no other person believed in me like he did.

I stood up from where I was crouching, faced him, and looked at him square in the eye. He stared back at me with his good eye and never averted it. Then I closed my eyes for a second and breathed deeply. This was it. I was going somewhere unknown. There was no turning back. I opened my eyes and saw him still gazing at me. I nodded my head in acceptance, and he nodded as well.

It was a silent agreement. I was scared to death, but he said it was alright.

And I believed him.

xxxxx

We walked to where Yuna and her Guardians were waiting. I was told it was the Luca - Mi'ihen Junction road. Perhaps they had thought we were there to bid our farewells. So, their reaction when Auron spoke to them was understandable.

"Yuna, I offer my services to you as a guardian." Auron said, "Do you accept?"

They all seemed shocked about this. I remembered Wakka saying that Auron was the best Guardian there ever was in Spira. He was the big shot here. But in Zanarkand, he was just plain Auron to me, the one who never left my side. I never had the chance to doubt what Wakka said, you know. When we walked from the docks to the junction road, people looked at him as if they were all star-strucked. As if his very presence would guard them from Sin itself.

"B-but why…?" Yuna asked with a nervous tone.

"I promised Braska." Auron answered. "Do you refuse?"

"N-no! We accept! Right, everyone?" Yuna stammered a bit. Wakka, Lulu, and Kimahri nodded their heads quickly as well.

"He comes too…" Then Auron gently shoved me in front of him. "This one I promised Jecht."

I know what they already thought of me. I maybe a blitzball whiz kid, but when it comes to fiends… yeah, I'm a complete newbie.

"Eh…howdy?" I managed to blurt out unintelligibly. The black mage shook her head in disappointment slightly; the former captain of the Aurochs must have scratched his head, and the Ronso must have just grunted.

But _she_ smiled at me, and somehow my heart just warmed a bit.

They started to walk already, but Yuna and I stayed behind to talk a bit. She told me she could whistle now. She put two fingers in a circle inside her mouth and blew. A cheering sound came out. I smiled at that, yet I could not hide the sadness on my face. The talk I had with Auron previously still clouded my head.

"Is something wrong?" She asked me, and I looked at her and I could almost hear myself saying: my old man is Sin, I'm stuck here in Spira, and yeah, things are fucked up. But I just shook my head.

"You know, Summoners and their guardians are kind of Spira's ray of light. A lot of people in Spira depend on us. So somehow, I practiced smiling even when I'm sad. I know it's hard, but…" She began.

"I understand, I think…" I answered, though the gloominess in my face never receded.

"Right! So, let's see what you can do."

"Huh?" I looked at her as if she had grown two heads.

"Smile!" She insisted.

I tried to; really, I did. But in my mind, I must have looked like a fish being fitted for teeth braces. I laughed at the thought instead, not knowing I voiced it out loud, and she laughed along with me.

"Too funny!"

"Hey, it was your idea!"

And we laughed harder again and again, releasing our negative thoughts and heavy burdens in one simple activity. It was like a breath of fresh air to our lungs after a hard day's work. Or like drinking cold water after running miles and miles in a desert.

But after a moment, she fell silent and said, "I want my journey to be full of laughter."

What does one say to that? I did not know back then, so I just nodded, missing out on the real reason behind that statement. Laughter, I thought I could at least provide that for her.

"If we should get separated, just whistle. I'll come running. I promise." She said to me. And I knew she meant every word.

"Hey, I promised you that first." I smiled back at her. I noticed the others stopped walking and were looking at us weirdly now, and so I pointed it out on them.

"We thought you guys might have gone crazy, ya?" Wakka said in defense.

She laughed again, and I'm beginning to love the sound of it. She ran forward, farther in front of Auron, and called out, "Sorry! Now then, on to the temple of Djose! And guardians, don't forget to smile!"

 **AN: This is just an off-topic side-note. I just got my hands on the MGS Legacy Collection and finished MGS4 (yeah, it's been years since it was out, but logistics wasn't always on my side). It was awesome! And boy, did I cry at the Shadow Moses flashback. I felt like I was transported to my eight-year old self playing MGS1 for the first time. Ah! Good games like that and Final Fantasy never gets old, especially when they became a big part of one's childhood. Haha, just my two cents. Ok, back to writing FFX! :)**


	7. Summoner's Life

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **Chapter 7: The Summoner's Life**

 _ **Yuna**_

I've always found the sunset soothing for someone's spirit. Its orange hues spreading warmly across the sky–nothing could have been more peaceful than it. Especially in Besaid where one can hear the sea's waves crashing to the shores.

Such was the sight before me when we made a stop at the Mi'ihen Highroad Travel Agency of Rin. Everyone was back inside, but I wanted to look at that pleasantly glowing orb for a few more moments and etch it in my memory. Something like this might never happen again.

This was the life of a Summoner. And there will be nothing else to do but to live in the moment, until the time to sacrifice one's life comes.

Yet I considered myself luckier than most Summoners out there. My Guardians were my most trusted friends. Tidus and Sir Auron were a pleasant addition to our party. The former had a positive attitude that was contagious, unnatural in a dark world like Spira; the latter was a veteran warrior monk and Guardian filled with wisdom about a pilgrimage, though he hadn't shared to me anything about his journey with my father yet.

Wakka, Lulu, and Kimahri? They had been with me since I was a child.

Kimahri was the first Ronso I had ever met. Ten years ago, I first saw him on the doorstep of my father's home in Bevelle, months after the last Calm had started. He was leaner and younger back then, but he exuded that unspeakable strength every Ronso was hiding. He said that he was there to take me to Besaid, a promise he had made to my Uncle Auron who disappeared right after we were invited to the High Summoner Address–the formal address usually made by Yevon to the whole of Spira signifying the start of a Calm and the coronation of the Summoner who defeated Sin. I asked him why Uncle Auron couldn't do it himself; he told me Uncle Auron was going somewhere. I didn't ask Kimahri where anymore. But I felt so alone and abandoned that when we arrived at the docks of Besaid, a peaceful farming and fishing village of the Spiran southern seas, I beg Kimahri not to leave me. He never left my side ever since.

Wakka and Lulu though, I remembered their faces when I first arrived at Besaid. Everyone there was in awe that I, daughter of the High Summoner who brought the Calm, was going to live with them when Kimahri brought me there. But those two? Their awestruck gazes were gone in a week. And soon enough, I was just Yuna in their eyes. They were my very first friends. They'd invite me to swim with them in the island's covert lagoons and play tag along the shorelines every day. We'd watch the Aurochs practice sometimes, and Lulu and I sometimes played house or collected seashells on the beach. As we got older, Wakka joined the Aurochs, Lulu learned the basics of black magic, and I helped around in the Besaid Temple. Things were always happy and peaceful.

That was when Chappu, Wakka's younger brother, was still alive, and before Sin first struck the village.

No one from Besaid had expected it. It always took roughly ten years for Sin to come back after a Calm. This time though, Sin came back three years earlier, and the village was his first victim. Because the village was sitting atop the hills, Sin's tidal wave didn't have much effect on it. Oh, it devastated the port side of the island near the shores, but what ruined the village that time was the many Sinspawns and the fiend swarm it caused. They attacked the village–the Crusaders stationed were not enough to handle them. All the men went out to fight, and the women and children hid in the temple cloister. It took a day to send word to Bevelle and for the Yevon capital to deploy their warrior monks. By then, the village was a complete ruin. And the Besaid men who fought valiantly to keep us safe? Two-thirds of them died, and a third was severely wounded. Those of us who hid in the temple could not hide our grief and mourning. There were many fathers, brothers, and uncles we lost that day.

That was my wake up call. And as I looked back now, I believed it was Chappu's as well. I knew that I could never let what happened to Besaid happen to the other cities in Spira. And so I made a decision, one that I knew would help make a difference. I applied as an apprentice Summoner at Bevelle, and then I went back to Besaid to train in its temple. Wakka, Lulu, and Kimahri were shocked, but they understood why. That was when they all said to me their oaths to be my Guardian when I start my pilgrimage. But Chappu... though he survived the battle of the fiend swarm in the village, he went away with the Crusaders on a mission somewhere to vanquish Sin. He was supposed to marry Lulu. But we never heard from him ever since. We just concluded one night that he died and would never return again.

Spira… will always be a difficult world to live in as long as there is Sin. Children will always be in fear that that they will never have a moment of peace in their lives. The people will always believe that what they had built with their own hands will be destroyed and taken away from them at anytime. The only hope were the Summoners and the Guardians to do their tasks. But for how long were we going to keep at it? What did we have to do to break the cycle of death and sacrifice on this world?

I wished I knew the answer. I wished that somehow, when I reached the end of my pilgrimage, I could break the cycle and it wouldn't be meaningless.

I was contemplating these things so hard that I didn't hear _him_ approach though.

"Whatcha up to?" Tidus asked, as he walked over to where I was sitting.

Not wanting to go back to my dark thoughts, I told Tidus that I was simply looking at the sunset, and that I found it soothing. And some other things, like how I wanted to live in a place like this. Peaceful. With a smile on my face every day. Not the dark thoughts and memories that were swirling inside my head.

"You can, once you beat Sin, right?"

No, once I beat Sin, I thought to myself, it will just be reborn after ten years. I said that to him gloomily, making known to him the undeniable spiral that spins Spira's world. He gave me that unwavering smile filled with confidence and told me to just beat Sin again. I didn't know what to say to that, so I fell silent. I didn't dare voice to him the fate of a Summoner in Spira. How could one beat another Sin, when one is already dead just to defeat the one before it? Was it rude of me not to tell him? I noticed the others never gave him the talk about that big event either. Maybe we all wanted to believe in his innocent optimism as well.

My previous words about Sin being reborn seemed to have sunk inside his head. He shifted uncomfortably then added in a sombre tone, "Yuna, why does Sin always come back?"

"Sin is the punishment for our vanity. It will not go away until we've atoned." I repeated to him the same answer I received once when I asked the same question he did when I was younger. I asked it to a Yevon priest, not even understanding how we would know complete atonement, or if there was an end to this atonement, an end to this cycle of death.

"How do we do that? What did we do that was so bad anyway? Was it using a lot of machina? Wait, was that so bad anyway?"

"It's funny… I never really thought about it that way. I… I don't know. There are many things I don't know." Now that I thought about it, somehow he had a point. Spira had always accepted the existence of Sin, the necessity of the pilgrimage, and the abstinence from machina, never questioning why we had to do it or what we did to deserve them. Maybe if we could have answers to these questions, it would help us break the cycle of death in Spira. But where do we start searching for answers?

"Well then, we're the same. You know..." He started, and his voice took a serious tone, but the mirth in it did not vanish, "when you play blitzball, you've got to keep your head in the game. Because the moment that you don't, bam! That's when you lose. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you don't have to worry so much, Yuna. We'll beat Sin, and after that, that's when you can worry about what you want for the future."

"Perhaps, you're right…" I muttered, silently wishing that there is another future for Summoners in Spira aside from the fact that they have to sacrifice themselves.

"But Yuna, how are you supposed to beat something big like that?"

"The Final Summoning. It's the only way to defeat Sin. The only way. With it, we can call the Final Aeon. That's the goal of the pilgrimage. The Fayth of the Final Summoning lies waiting in the far north, to greet Summoners that complete their pilgrimage. At the world's edge...in Zanarkand."

"In Zanarkand?" He asked, surprise and disbelief reigning on his features.

"What she meant is the ruins of a city destroyed a thousand years ago." Uncle Auron answered; no, Sir Auron. I didn't know if I could still call him uncle. Though he was my father's best friend, ten years of being apart somehow created a rift between us that made us estranged. But I knew I could still trust him with my life. I was glad that he and Tidus though were close like a family.

"You sure it's ruins?" Tidus asked, something like hope and desperation warring his tone.

"You'll see soon enough. Yuna, come back inside." Sir Auron said tersely. And when he uses that voice in that manner, somehow you have to obey. Ever since he joined us, he had been the de facto leader of my Guardians.

"You'll go with us? To Zanarkand?" I asked Tidus, as we walked side by side back to the Travel Agency.

"Yeah. To see it with my own eyes." He said, and there was sadness in his voice that somehow I wish I could ease.

Zanarkand. That will be the final step in my pilgrimage. When I summon the Final Aeon to fight Sin in The Scar, that would mean the end of my life. I just wished I would be brave enough to do it, but until then, I will keep living in the moment.

 **AN: Real life is catching up to me. This whole writing thing just came out because I became ill and had to resign from my work. Now that I'm feeling better, I have to start finding employment again. Might affect the time it takes for me to post new chapters, but no worries, I still have about a dozen pre-written ones. If you're reading this, many thanks for sticking around. May you keep on reading! By Chapter 10, I'll be adding my own spins. Cheers!**


	8. Dying Men

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **AN: So sorry for the long delay in putting up this chapter. I had to rewrite it, but real life has been hard these past few weeks. I received tons of rejection letters from employers, it was almost maddening; plus a special rejection letter for a poetry manuscript I sent out to a publisher. Anyway, I still have some fighting spirit with me, so no worries. Pardon me for the 'xxxxx' as well, I can't seem to make the line break work. XD**

 **Chapter 8: Dying Men**

 _ **Auron**_

He stood by the door of the Mi'ihen Travel Agency, as if it was the one he was guarding so intently. But I knew his eyes were trained on the cliffs far from him, keeping an eye on a certain Summoner who was watching the sunset. He had his spear out, standing tall beside him, ready to attack and defend his Summoner should anything happen. We were at a popular stopover for travelers who traverse the Mi'ihen Highroad. I doubted anything ominous would happen, but this was how Kimahri took his job as a Guardian. Always watching, always protecting. Devoted and loyal until the end. It wasn't because the Ronso tribe value honor and pride greatly, he just had that rare, kind soul you could trust with anything.

And ten years ago, I entrusted him the promise I was not be able to keep.

I was half-walking, half-limping on the junction of the Macalania - Bevelle road for I was severly wounded from the fight I had with Yunalesca. I came along way away, hitchhiking from travelers from Gagazet to Calm Lands. As I walked in the Macalania Woods though, no one was there to help as I had a hood over my face that perhaps made the traveling passers-by feel unfavorable towards me. Perhaps if I had shed the hood, they would have known that it was the Legendary Guardian who was literally crawling his way towards Bevelle to reach Yuna's doorstep. But just when my knees gave out and I was about to fall unceremoniously on the ground, strong, blue arms of a Ronso grasped me, took me to the side, and helped me lean on one of the big rocks beside the path. He doused me with potions, but my wounds were so severe, they barely helped. I knew I was reaching the end of the line, and so, as a dying man's last wish, I spoke to him of my promise to Braska about taking Yuna to Besaid. I didn't even think of how he would be able to know and find Yuna. But the desperation seeped in my veins as every gasp of breath I had seemed to be my last. I just thought perhaps he would fulfill my promise to Braska if I passed it on. I cringed as I knew I had no way of keeping my promise to Jecht now. Then, I felt a stirring in my chest and knew that that was it. My last breath.

There were many things people think happen when one dies. Flashbacks of memories, white lights, choirs of angels singing. For me, there was none of it. Only blackness. The next thing I knew, I was somewhere in the Macalania Woods, standing beside my cadaver lying on top of piled smooth stones. I was fully-covered with many branches of woods with my head still hooded and barely visible. My sword was stabbed on the ground near my head, my jug hanging on its handle. I knew what all of it was. It was a Ronso burial, fit for a warrior who fought in a war. The final act was to set the woods on fire though. Perhaps the Ronso I met did not have the heart to set me aflame. But the greatest phenomenon of all was the fact that I, corporeal, was staring at my own corpse. It only meant one thing. I became an unsent. Wanting to keep the secret for a longer time, I uncovered my body from the Ronso burial and hid it well in the deeper parts of the Macalania Woods. Only I knew where it was now.

A newborn unsent has many disadvantages. I could not mingle with humans instantly – it would make transform to my fiend form. So, I stayed in the woods for a few months, training myself to shut out the sinful feelings the unsent had for the living. I would walk closely with living travelers without them noticing. When I knew that I could shut out the whispers to transform to the fiend form that the unsent have, I made my way to Bevelle to Yuna's house. Imagine my surprise to find that there was no warrior monk stationed there anymore. I asked for Yuna in the café Braska and she frequented to. The old lady said Yuna bid her farewell because she was moving to Besaid. She was accompanied by a blue Ronso.

Imagine my surprise; I never thought the kind Ronso would keep his promise to a dying man. But I wanted to be sure, so I departed for Besaid right then. When I arrived, I quickly asked around for Yuna again. Someone pointed me to a lagoon where kids used to go to swim and play. I went there, and there were the two. Yuna and the blue Ronso, swimming and having fun in the waters.

He fulfilled my promise.

Now, I walked over to where _he_ was standing, just after I listened in to the talk Tidus and Yuna had. _He_ now looked at me with that familiar recognition one has for an old friend. In a way, we were old friends, even when we hardly knew each other. The trust we had for each other bound us and made that possible.

"I didn't even ask for your name that time." I said to him regretfully – in my broken Ronso language I learned as part of the Bevelle Black Corps, mindful of who might hear – reminding him with subtlety the first time we met. Two days earlier, I was able to know the members of Yuna's party. Lulu was the black mage and the keeper of the party's funds. Wakka was the sharpshooter and sometimes the party's cook. Kimahri was his name, the guard at night, the Ronso who fulfilled my promise to Braska. Now that Tidus and I had come along, I took turns with Kimahri, shifting the scheduled watch for our camp, so we could sleep in turns. This was the first time I broached the subject of our first encounter ten years ago in the woods of Macalania.

"You didn't have to. I am glad that we met again." He replied in fluent Ronso, complete with the growling, hissing, and guttural sounds the language was famous for. Even their spoken language reflects the characteristics of their tribe – strong, formidable, and enduring.

"So am I. Kimahri, you fulfilled a promise from a dying man. I know no other honor greater than that." I told him, my tongue finally becoming more familiar with the complicated phonetics of the Ronso language as I went along. "I am indebted to you. With all my life, I thank you."

"There is no need. Kimahri was lost. No horn, no pride, no honor. Fulfilling your promise gave him direction."

"You didn't have to stay though." I told him, wanting to know the reason why he was still with Yuna after fulfilling his promise to me.

"Taking Yuna to Besaid was for you. Watching over Yuna was for Yuna."

"And now?"

"Guarding Yuna is still for Yuna. She is…" His gaze traveled from mine to the Summoner who was watching the sunset by the cliffs, "a little sister Kimahri never had."

"I see." I placed a hand on his shoulder. He took it with his free hand and gave me a firm handshake, the one someone would give to a fellow brother in arms in the middle of a war both were fighting together. Something crossed my mind though as our hands were still locked in a handshake. There was no way to tread lightly on this particular subject. I knew he knew, and so I decided to be straightforward. "Kimahri, about my being unsen-" I started.

"Auron is still here for good reasons. Kimahri knows." He cut me off gently, the hoarseness of the Ronso language in his tongue seemingly softening. There was no contempt or disgust in his eyes. There was only kindness and understanding that came from a comrade who would stand by you till the end.

"Thank you." I squeezed his hand back and gradually let go, accepting his acknowledgement.

When I saw Yuna and Tidus finally coming towards us, I left Kimahri and went inside the Travel Agency to rest, feeling unusually calm and naturally at peace with myself.

xxxxx

They blocked the road and restricted all access. We were now standing at the Mi'ihen Highroad - Mushroom Rock Road Connection. They said it will be like this for at least five days, until their 'operation' is complete. I tried to protest and intimidate lightly the sentries who were guarding the entrance, but they did not budge one bit nor give any hint on what their operation was about. What they only said was that they were going to trap Sin. We kept seeing fiends locked in cages being sent through the blockade. Sin was drawn to its Sinspawns. Whatever their operation was, it seemed that they upheld it with high regard. For a moment, I thought of having the party stay put and setup camp not a long way away. The blue-haired Guado Maester's arrival was not anticipated in any way though. In the instant that he saw Yuna, he quickly made his way to approach her. Yuna greeted him with her more-than-usual politeness.

"You seem troubled." Seymour said to Yuna, barely giving a glance to us Guardians. Yuna looked sideways from him and the sentries, and Seymour immediately understood the reason. He called for the sentries and asked us to let us through, and not only that, but to also allow us access to the command center.

He led us, and we followed. There were many Crusaders and Al Bhed's preparing for combat. At the sight of him, they all stopped and gave a salute. Seymour stood in front of them and gave a little speech. Something about supporting and bearing witness to their joint endeavor. Wakka was the most disturbed in all of us. He did not seem to understand why Yevon would allow Crusaders and the Al Bhed's to use forbidden machina even if it were to defeat Sin. The redhead asked the Guado Maester about this; the latter only gave a noncommittal reply.

"Pretend you didn't see them." The Guado said to the redhead and started to lead us to the command center. There I met someone I thought I would never see again.

Wen Kinoc. He laughed lightly when he saw me and tried to hug me before he actually spoke. I would never think there was someone as happy as he was to see me. "I heard the rumors, but I never thought I'd actually meet you. It's been a long time, Auron, hasn't it? Ten years?"

Yes, it was ten years since I last saw him. But it had been more than that since we had actually been together. The last time we were together was when we were Warrior Monk Apprentices. Then we were both assigned to different units. After we were both promoted as Infantry Commanders, Kinoc and I took different career paths. While I always accepted fieldwork moving from the reconnaissance unit Black Corps to the elite Bevelle Guardians – Red Guard, Kinoc chose to serve in the administration of the warrior monks. It was a tough path in an organization with a lot of politics and power play. But Kinoc was one who always knew how to play his cards.

"Come, I'm excited to hear where you have been these past ten years." He said to me, the smile on his face never fading.

"I was… fulfilling a promise to an old friend. I still am."

"Just tell me one thing: have you seen Zanarkand?" Kinoc looked at me with knowing eyes. Years even before I became a warrior monk apprentice, there was already a growing legend in Bevelle that there was a parallel Zanarkand City in Spira. There were covert expeditions sent out to search for it. Much to their dismay, all of these expeditions found no evidence that the city existed in another form. But Braska and I had the evidence with us already. Jecht. How I actually came to dream Zanarkand? That was a secret that I would never tell anyone from Bevelle. Maybe to Tidus someday. But for now, I shut my mouth as Kinoc looked at me expectantly. Luckily, he misunderstood my silence as embarrassment, and so when a Crusader informed him that all troops were ready, he let me be and instantly gave his go-signal.

The guards of the fiends instantly started torturing the Sinspawns. They wailed and gave out squeals of pain. Some of them retaliated and broke past the cages where they were held. I called out for the party to prepare as a Sinspawn Gui was heading towards us. I commanded Tidus to cast haste on everyone on the party and had Yuna bring out Ifrit who was our Aeon currently on overdrive. It took out the head and the arms, then Kimahri, Tidus, and I attacked the body fervently. After sometime, the arms regenerated, and I ordered Lulu to cast heavy black magic on them, then I followed it with a Power Break. Wakka hit the head with a Darkness Attack, and Kimahri and Tidus delivered blows on the body simultaneously. After quite some time, the body weakened and the Sinspawn dissolved into pyreflies.

The battle wasn't over though. Beyond the distance Sin arrived and loomed over. The Crusaders and the Al Bheds hit it with all their cannons and gunfire, but none of them could even get past Sin's tough scale armor. Sin then unleashed a giant barrier over itself that became a powerful surge of impulse that disintegrated everything in its path. I called out for the party to take cover and ran towards Yuna as fast as I could to shield her. At that moment, I hoped and prayed to an unknown deity that no one from us was hit, hurt, or dead. When the heat from the impulse dissipated, I looked up to the tower that held a massive ray gun. It was the Crusaders and the Al Bhed's last trump card. It shot out a large red beam that for a moment seemed to penetrate Sin's own force field barrier… if only Sin's own did not bend downwards and knocked the ray gun's foundation.

xxxxx

It never worked. The whole thing would never really have a chance of working. The end result was only death, and not the death of Sin, no, but the death of those who fought valiantly and believed in this wayward cause. Whoever coughed up this bloody, sordid plan of destroying Sin with machina must have a brain the size of a chicken poop, nevertheless.

Probably Kinoc, who knew my fellow warrior monk would be a Yevon Maester now? Or Mika. Or that half-breed Guado Seymour. It was either of the three. I doubt Kelk Ronso had a hand in this. I did not notice any Ronso in the battlefield. Either way any idiotic idea coming out of Bevelle always came from the higher-ups. But an idiotic idea always has an ulterior motive behind it. Who do you think had won in their sham of a battle against Sin? Not the Crusaders, not the Al Bhed's, no. The ruse was there to assimilate the supremacy of the religion of Bevelle, Yevon, yet again.

Who was to blame for this defeat? No one, of course. But Yevon will make the people believe that they have to blame themselves and that the Yevon way of life is the only way. The faithful lived on, while those who had turned from Yevon conveniently died. Wakka must already be spouting his tirade about more atonement and repentance and abstinence from machina. I can't say I blame him. Once a Yevon warrior monk, I walked that path blindly as well.

But not anymore. My eyes have been opened to the truth.

I tried to shake my head off of the thoughts of Seymour and Kinoc as they passed by me. Corrupted even to the highest ranks. It wouldn't do well to dwell on them. I have long since forgone my care for the politics of Spira.

I looked back at the team I had. It will be painful for them. But their eyes have to be opened as well when the time comes.

That's when I saw him, wandering off the shore of Mushroom Rock. I silently walked over to him.

"I see you're still here." I said to him. I might have as well talked to a Zanarkand Dome ghoul. He looked as lifeless as one was.

"Yeah." He grunted.

"Many stories ended here today, but yours must go on."

"He didn't have to come, you know." He stated, as he tore his eyes away from a Crusader who was piling up dead bodies on the shore, one on top of the other. "He could have just… I don't know… not show up."

"He had to."

"And for what reason?" He asked, fists clenched.

"To show you what he is capable of, if we do not stop him." I told him. Yes, that had to be the reason. Jecht wouldn't waste these deaths if he didn't have to.

"Why did you have to tell me? It would have been better for me not knowing." He looked at me then, the burden of our secret reflected in his blue eyes. Yes, Tidus, I know it is a difficult weight to carry. "I would've gone along with you either way. You're the only person I know here from Zanarkand."

"Then have you acting up like this at a critical moment? No, it is better you know at an earlier time than for you to be emotional."

"Who says I'm emotional!?" He asked, voice starting to rise, definitely feeling defiant at my earlier comment.

"You always forget that I have known you for ten years, Tidus. You wear your heart on your sleeve." I moved towards him to squeeze his right shoulder firmly with my free hand, my hand that was not tucked inside my red coat. "That has always been your greatest strength… and your greatest weakness."

"Huh?" He looked at me, confused, as if I had just spoken in Al Bhed. I started to walk back to the others when he called out again, "Hey! What does that mean?"

I turned around to address him, "I heard you were quite a crybaby." I teased him with the pet peeve that usually got on his nerves. No, he no longer cried like the child he was before, but that didn't mean he didn't feel pain. In fact, pain was even more harrowing when one cannot cry about it.

"I'm still not buying your story, you hear!" He shouted back at me, as I was quite a distance away. I chuckled darkly because I knew even he didn't believe a word of what he just said.

All of us alive after this mayhem felt the reality of Sin.

He and I felt the reality of what Jecht had inevitably became.

 **AN: I saw a Youtube video of a blacksmith company recreating Auron's katana for real, and other Final Fantasy swords such as Squall's gunblade, Cloud's buster sword, and Sephiroth's masamune. Just look for Auron's Katana Man at Arms on Youtube if you're interested. The videos made my day.**


	9. Chase

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **Chapter 9: Chase**

 _ **Tidus**_

There was something that happened that I never told anyone in the party on that dreadful day in Mushroom Rock.

I chased after Sin – after _him_ ; right after I saw him pulverize the Crusaders and the Al Bhed's who attacked him. Well, it was more like I swam after Sin, out to the sea where he retreated back to where he wanted to hide. What was I thinking? I had no idea. But my legs just kept on propelling me to go after Sin, to know and see if it was really my old man inside that huge shell. Maybe I had thought Sin would turn around, and I would be warped into some freaky dimension where my old man would be there and we could talk. Or if ever that were to happen, maybe so I could smack my old man in the face first inside that dimension, and then we'd talk.

How could he? All those people dead because of him; Crusaders, Al Bhed's, it didn't matter. And for what reason? In the aftermath, Auron had said it was to show me what Sin was capable of. I already knew what he was capable of. He showed me first in my Zanarkand. Then he made that sure in Kilika. This time, it just felt like he was rubbing it in.

And I had never felt so angry. Angry at him for causing another catastrophe. Angry at Auron for telling me Sin was my old man. But most of all, angry at myself for not being able to do anything. Why bring me here Auron when I couldn't do a damn thing? What was the point?

I didn't want to believe a single thing Auron said, you know. But when I swam after Sin, I felt the memories that I had buried regarding my old man resurfacing. Was it Sin's toxin playing tricks on my mind? I did not know, but voices began to creep inside my ears. My eyes became cloudy, not because of the saltwater, but because of this strange feeling. Images flashed before me. Our home in Zanarkand, Blitzball, my Mom. Then everything was gone, replaced by his voice and mine. We were arguing as always. I knew this memory. I was six, and it was the height of his drinking before he disappeared from Zanarkand completely. That time, he would come home severely drunk and Mom would have to take care of him as if he was the child and I was the adult. So feeling courageous one time, I walked up to him to tell him to stop drinking.

"I can quit drinking whenever I want!" He said arrogantly, just the way he said to others that he could beat all the other blitzball teams in Zanarkand because he was the "best".

"Then do it now!" I insisted, wanting to take him at his word.

"Heh, tomorrow, maybe." He replied lazily.

"Why not today?"

"Why do it today when one can do it tomorrow?" He said, and somehow the hopelessness of his drinking problem stung my eyes. I tried to hold back the tears, but the more I suppressed them, the more they flowed.

" Argh, there he goes again… crying!" He exclaimed his frustration.

He walked out on me that day, never wanting to see me cry, as if it was an allergy that shamed him or that would cause him death. I didn't know why I always cried in front of him. Perhaps his abrasive words were to sharp for a kid like me. I used to get so mad about crying afterwards when all I wanted was to stand up to him and tell him I hated him. And I still did. I hated him and the tangled mess that was us. I doubted if this was how father and son talks were always like.

I stopped swimming after Sin then, knowing that it was now a lost cause. I went back to the shore of Mushroom Rock, looking for a place to be alone. When I leaned on a rock, I saw Yuna on my far right, together with Lulu and Wakka. She was dancing. Dancing that graceful dance I always hated. People died, and Yuna danced. When will she ever stop dancing? She will never stop dancing until Spira gets rid of Sin. Gets rid of my old man. What a cruel world this Spira was.

xxxxx

The place was a hellhole. It was not a pretty sight. There was a lot of debris from destroyed forbidden machina scattered around the battlefield, a constant reminder of the failed operation. Yuna had finished her sending, but there were still dead bodies everywhere. Some corpses even had mutilated limbs brought by Sin's surge of impulse. We did not know what else we could do. Auron just said it was time to go continue the pilgrimage and that the warrior monks will take care of the rest of the casualties. So, we started our exit from Mushroom Rock, but it was done in absolute silence.

"Hey, you two, hurry up!" Yuna called out in a cheerful voice as she saw Kimahri and me straggling at the back of the party.

Sometimes, I hated how she tries so hard to smile and be happy. Like she had to put on a mask and hide away her real self – the one that's supposed to be grieving at what's happening around us, or the one that's supposed to be screaming mad at the unfairness of it all. I wanted to shout at her: _for the love of blitzball, Yuna, can you not show other people that you're mourning too?_

"In dark times, Yuna must shine bright. Now are dark times. Yuna tries hard." Kimahri said as he walked beside me, jolting me awake from my own dark thoughts. I don't know about the hidden abilities of the Ronso folks, but I nearly thought telepathy was one of them at that moment. You know what the other surprising thing was? He actually spoke to me! He never did so before.

"We should help her then." An idea derived from his words hit my head.

Kimahri nodded, "If we worry, she tries harder. Do not frown."

"Don't worry, be happy?" I smiled at the simple maxim he wanted to imply. I remembered when Yuna and I were in Luca and she told me to smile even when I'm feeling down.

"Kimahri try too."

"Smile then! Let me see!" My ears perked up at the chance to pull a prank on Kimahri. But he smiled so sincerely, all fangs and sharp teeth that I couldn't help but laugh lightly and smile back at his effort **.** Choose to be happy. Despite whatever tragedy comes your way. If Kimahri could do such a simple act for Yuna, how could I not?I patted the Ronso's shoulder twice to acknowledge him, a silent thanks, then I ran towards the others with renewed strength.

"Heey! Wait up!" I shouted a little too loudly, and when I reached Wakka's side, I nudged him with my elbow strongly, causing him to stagger a bit as he walked.

"Yo! What's gotten into you, ya?" He scratched his head, maybe wondering why I suddenly acted hyper as if I had drunk a dozen espressos.

"Everyone… I just… I just wanted to say something..." I started, and everyone stopped walking to look at me. It suddenly made me feel embarrassed to be the center of their attention, but I knew I had to say what I had to say. "I… Thanks. I know I'm always a dolt, not knowing many things about Spira, but thanks… for putting up with me."

"Tidus, you are always welcome." Yuna said to me with a smile.

"Yes, you maybe a dolt, but an entertaining dolt, nonetheless." Lulu commented, and the others didn't even bother to hide their chuckles.

"What's with the sentimentality, ya? We still have a very long journey together." Wakka reminded. I knew we still had a long way to go before Zanarkand, but, after experiencing all the deaths in Mushroom Rock, I hated thinking about what might happen. At any moment, one of us could just di… I didn't even want to finish that thought.

"I'm just saying… you all mean a lot to me." I said to them sincerely. They smiled at me and I saw their appreciation for my words.

Suddenly Yuna came to my side and poked my arm. "Who are you, and what have you done to Tidus?" She said playfully.

"Ahh, Yuna! I'm serious!"

And we all laughed at such a simple thing. I felt good afterwards. I remembered Yuna said she wanted her journey to be full of laughter. Now, I learned that happiness was always a choice.

"So, where to next?" I asked them.

"To the temple in Djose." Lulu answered.

"And after that?"

"We go through Moonflow and Guadosalam to reach Macalania where the next temple of Fayth is located." Lulu added, and my jaw dropped at all the new names I heard. Wakka was right; we did have a long way to go.

"I have to pray in every temple to gain strength to summon the Final Aeon." Yuna explained.

"Sounds tough, Yuna." I thought of how many trials a Summoner must go through just to defeat Sin, and about the conversation we had once if it was worth it because Sin always comes back. She adamantly said it was, because even for a little while, people could sleep in their beds peacefully. Children could grow up without the fear of something snatching the lives out of their hands. Now I realized, being a Summoner… was a burden heavier than the knowledge that Sin is my old man.

"I'll be fine with all of you here." She nodded to us approvingly.

Somehow, with everyone trying so hard to overcome the grief of what happened in Mushroom Rock, I felt in my heart that I could do this. Whatever this was. A hope was burning in my heart, and I could not just let unfavorable circumstances blow it away.

I'll see the end of this. No matter what the cost.

 **AN: Thank you for the reviews I received on chapter 8! They are very much appreciated! ^_^**


	10. The Famous Daughter

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **Chapter 10: The Famous Daughter**

 _ **Yuna**_

If I could count the things that one should see in Spira before one dies, I would include the temple of the Fayths in that list. Every single one of them, because they really are a sight to behold. Like each one was an embodiment of the personality of the Fayth sealed within it.

The Lightning Temple of Djose, for instance, was magnificent in itself. If a Summoner was inside, the rocks surrounding atop the temple would float but stay in place due to the heavy electricity the Fayth of the temple was emitting.

"Awesome!" I heard Tidus exclaim, before we entered the temple.

There we met another Summoner coming out of the Cloister of Trials. He must have just finished praying to the Fayth; he had two guardians with him, one was an older boy and the other was a younger one. He had a kind face, and he asked for my name. I told him mine, and I learned that his was Isaaru.

"As I thought, the daughter of Lord Braska. You have the look of your father." He said, reverence clearly shown in his face.

I always received this reaction all the time. There were even times that some strangers would want to shake my hand. I think I was in Bevelle when it started – when the news came that my father had defeated Sin. People were parading in the streets. Trumpets, bands, and the local circus were marching all around. I was out with a strict warrior monk assigned to guard me. And I wished for nothing more but to have my father, Uncle Auron, and Uncle Jecht to be beside me. Then before I knew it, the old lady who was managing the café my father and I frequented to embraced me. She muttered something about how his grandson would be able to grow up without Sin. She thanked me, but I knew that it shouldn't be me she should be thanking. It was just that the person they have to thank was already gone. Dead.

My father was gone. When the news of his victory hadn't come yet, I would fool myself into thinking that he would think twice about the pilgrimage and come back to me. But then, the hard reality struck me. He was dead, and I was going to have to live with it. My seven year old self locked herself in her room for days, crying. If only these people who throw adoring looks at me knew the truth.

"Since I was a child, I've always looked up to Lord Braska. I wished I would someday become a High Summoner like he was." Isaaru began, "You must have some of your father's talent in you! I believe you might someday defeat Sin."

"I'm not really… I've only just become a Summoner." I told him. These praises were nothing new, but every time some people bestow it upon me, I wished they would see the real me.

"Of course, I've no intention of losing, either. So perhaps we should race to see who can defeat Sin first, no?" Isaaru suggested, but there was no air of arrogance in his voice.

Race to defeat Sin? It was a wild idea. He might as well have suggested that we race and see who's going to die first. But he had a playful countenance as he said it. The challenge may as well motivate him. "Very well, then. I accept your challenge." I said and faintly smiled at him.

We bid our farewells and said our good luck's, then my Guardians and I entered the Cloister of Trials. We solved the trials as best as we could, and we reached the antechamber. I braced myself as I entered the Chamber of Fayth.

No one really knows what happens to Summoners when they are inside the chamber but themselves. The truth was we just talk to the Fayth, and the Fayth assesses if the Summoner was worthy to call the Fayth as their Aeon. If he or she was, then they'd have the power to call the Aeon anytime. The hymn would always be there as well in the background, a soothing sound that sometimes calmed a Summoner's nerves.

"I am Summoner Yuna. I am here to call upon the Fayth of the Temple of Djose and beseech you to become my Aeon." I said, kneeling down and looking at the statue glowing underneath the transparent floor tiles.

After a few moments, a relatively old man appeared, he had a long, white beard and an equally long, white hair tied in a ponytail. His green eyes were unbelievably kind, like that of a grandfather's. He was dressed in yellow robes, and he was holding a wooden scepter. His face had an amused expression on it. "Yuna. I remember that name. Now when have I heard it?"

"I wouldn't know, your grace." I told him, a bit surprised. The other Fayth had never mentioned knowing my name before.

"Ah, I think I remember now. There was this Summoner named Braska who said he wanted to rid Sin for his daughter Yuna. Doing it for the rest of Spira was just a consolation prize. Yes, it was the most honest answer I received in a while." The old man mused and paused for a bit. "Oh, where are my manners. I am Ixion - the Lightning Fayth. I know that perhaps there are many named 'Yuna' in Spira, but are you, by any chance, that man – Braska's daughter?"

"Yes, I am, your grace."

"I see, so the child follows after her father's footsteps. Is that why you decided to become a Summoner? Mind your answer now, little one. My allegiance to you rests on your most honest response." Ixion warned, though his smile never faded.

"No, I…" I stammered, trying to think of the most honest answer to his query. There was always a standard line a Summoner uses when asked about why he or she decided to become a Summoner. To save Spira and bring the Calm. When they say that it's not worth it because Sin always comes back, we say there was always a chance it won't come back this time. But I knew somewhere buried deep inside my heart was another answer to this question. The one that I never spoke of to others. I breathed in and out, as I searched for the words to explain it to the Fayth.

"I wish I could tell you that I'm doing it all for Spira," I told him. "but I'm doing it for myself as well."

"Yourself?" Ixion raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. In fact, very interesting. Tell me why."

"Yes, because there is nothing else…" I continued and looked into his eyes, "I look at my life, and I see it with nothing else being good for but for this. Being a Summoner… it gives me meaning. Like I'm more than something worthless in Spira's cycle of death."

"Ah, finally an honest answer. You're the second one today to give me that. This must be a special day."

Ixion stated while brushing a hand over his long, white beard. "Finding your worth in this world has always been the youth's problem. But I can feel your determination burning, child. You are still young, yet I will not insult you longer by asking if you are certain. I would be glad to help you in your pilgrimage. You may consider me now as your ally."

He dissolved into pyreflies and the glowing orbs entered me one by one. This was it. He was part of me to be called as an Aeon now. I stood up from where I was kneeling and headed for door of the chamber, exhausted and fatigued. The whole process of talking to the Fayth and absorbing them as a part of you always left the Summoner as such. When the door opened, Kimahri was right beside me in an instant.

I didn't expect Dona to be there though. She was the Summoner we met at Kilika Island, and she had a bit of an attitude. I thought we'd be glad to see each other again, but she was somehow lividly staring at me. I wondered what happened between her and my Guardians.

"You owe much to your father. All these guardians, and Sir Auron, too? And I hear Maester Seymour's quite taken with you. The world must look different when you're the daughter of Lord Braska." She said scornfully to me.

"This has nothing to do with my father! I am travelling on my own, as a full-fledged summoner!" I countered. My voice reflecting the anger that was hidden deep in my heart every time another person spouts insults like these at me because of my father.

"Oh, is that so? Then try standing on your own two legs for once. Your guardians won't always be there to protect you when the time comes." She replied, before going to the chamber. I realized that she was the type of person who wanted to get the last word every time.

"Don't mind her, ya?" Wakka said to me, putting his arm around me to comfort me.

"What… What happened when I was away?" I asked, and everyone suddenly reddened and was trying not to laugh.

A smooth, baritone chuckle resonated in the room, and I noticed it came from Sir Auron. "...Something she would never tell anyone."

Everyone laughed at that except for me. I was still confused at Dona's behavior. Then Tidus winked at me and said, "We'll tell you when we get to our quarters."

I smiled at them then, forever grateful that I have the best of my friends as my Guardians. Without them by my side, maybe I would have never pushed through in this pilgrimage.

 **AN: As a show of gratitude towards my kind readers and reviewers (and to CupofTeaforAliceandHatter and** **Golden Asp who are excited to have Rikku back), I have decided to post two chapters today so that on the next post we'll have the chapters where Auron and Rikku meets for the first time. So go on and click for Chapter 11, it's already up and posted. (^_^) Have a nice day everyone!**


	11. Escaping Shadows

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **Chapter 11: Escaping Shadows**

 _ **Tidus**_

It was always hard when your father was famous. It doesn't matter if he was dead or alive. You bear his name, and as a consequence you bear his success or his shame. And it won't ever go away. It will follow you wherever you go, even throughout your lifetime.

I felt the brunt of it when I started practicing Blitzball seriously back when I was in Zanarkand. It was two years after my old man's death. Truth was, ever since my old man disappeared, I lost my interest in Blitzball. I stopped going to the Zanarkand Little League of Blitzball's practice. Watching it reminded me of him. Playing it reminded me of his taunts when he saw me practicing once. And I seriously wanted to get him out of my head. My mom wasn't able to though; she drowned her grief in her alcoholism. Auron would bring her home severely drunk every once in a while. In the morning, she was as lifeless as one of those addicts who were high on Zanarkand's Bliss pills. Maybe she did take some. I was too young to tell the difference between being drunk and being stoned. After some months, she overdosed on sleeping pills and died before she even had the chance to get to a hospital. That was the time I cried the hardest in my whole life, rage and grief mixing in my heart.

How could life be so shitty? I wanted to hurt somebody at the unfairness of it all. Of course, I couldn't. So I buried the rage inside me, bottling it up day by day.

Auron was there like the shade of a cloud in a sunny day, always lurking but never taking action; and he saw it all. He noticed me isolating myself, from my class, from the Little League, and from him. One day, he stopped me from going to school. I asked him why. He brought me to one of those Blitzball practice rings where one could practice shooting the ball to the goal signs. But instead, he stood right where the goal sign was.

"Kick the blitzball and hit me instead of the goal sign." He said.

"What?" I asked him, confused at his behavior.

"Don't act deaf, you heard me. I said kick the blitzball and hit me."

I kicked the ball unenthusiastically and it hit his knee softly.

He chuckled in that baritone voice of his, "That your hardest kick? I barely felt it. Kick harder, kid."

I bit my lip. I knew he was goading me intentionally, but it got to me. And I started kicking blitzball after blitzball with all the strength I got. Never stopping, as the machina that prepares the ball never stopped depositing one for me. They hit Auron's stomach, his arms, his thighs, sometimes his head. But I never stopped, not when tears started flowing from my eyes. I felt the pent-up rage in me pouring out after every kick. And I kicked some more, unleashing it from the deepest caverns of my heart. I was like a dragon that wouldn't stop breathing out fire. Finally, exhaustion filled my lungs, and I couldn't kick anymore. I sat on the floor of the practice ring, still crying, a sobbing mess.

"You'll be alright." He said sincerely and walked towards me. He crouched to reach me. I felt him pat my head and rub my back. "Find something you love to do. Let it occupy you. Then you'll see in time, it'll hurt less. Everything will be fine, Tidus."

Was he speaking from experience? I did not know back then. But his words ignited a flame inside me.

I went back to the Little League's practice a week later. I could never be parted with my blitzball. I took it with me everywhere I went. I missed a penalty shot in a game once, then got benched from then on. Some of the kids in the league continued insulting me. Now that my old man wasn't playing anymore and his team was losing in the playoffs, they all had the most creative mockery to throw at me. Telling me I'm dirt compared to my old man, saying I would never become like him. I smiled inwardly; of course, I'll never be like him.

I will be better than him.

Making a name for myself and escaping the shadow of my famous old man. That was probably what was driving my life when I was still in Zanarkand, despite the tragedies I encountered.

Yet in Spira, I was anonymous as a chocobo in a nameless herd, which was more than alright. Yuna wasn't though, and I could empathize with her. It seemed like everywhere we went, she was always seen as the famous daughter of the High Summoner who brought the last Calm.

That was why I was fuming with the way Dona treated Yuna earlier. She would never know the consequence of having a famous father. Her ignorance just showed itself.

"So she was like, 'Barthello, you know this riffraff?', ya?" Wakka started as the topic came up when we were eating on the temple dining area. One of the few instances when we were eating on a table. This only happens when we were resting in a Travel Agency. The rest of the time, we were eating our meals on the ground we perched our tents on.

"And Barthello came up to Auron and was like, 'Are you Auron - no, Sir Auron? May I shake your hand? You're the reason I became a guardian!'" I added, mimicking Barthello's voice.

"Oh, what did you do, Sir Auron?" Yuna asked the Guardian with the red coat curiously.

"I shook his hand." Auron said lazily then took a sip from his jug.

"And she was embarrassed like, 'Barthello, get back here!'" Lulu said, in between chuckles. Even Kimahri chortled a bit.

"Maybe that's why she was so angry at me when I returned from the chamber." Yuna mused.

"Could be." Wakka answered.

Everybody fell silent, then there was a knock on the door. The head of a temple servant snuck in and asked for Yuna. There were wounded who needed healing and fallen who needed sending; these were still the Crusaders and Al Bhed's from the Operation Mi'ihen. They were asking for her help. Yuna nodded and stood up, but before she motioned to follow the temple servant, Auron called out to her.

"Yuna, you are not Braska. This is your pilgrimage. Your story. Do not let her get to you." Auron said, his serious tone evident. That was a classic Auron line. They were the words of encouragement of his that always came out at the right time, just when one needed it the most.

Yuna smiled and nodded, then walked out to help the temple's servants.

I remembered the guy, Isaaru, and what he told me. "Uhh," I called out for attention from everyone. "I heard this rumor from the Summoner we met earlier. Guy named Isaaru? He kind of said that Summoners have been disappearing."

"Fiends?" Lulu asked, concern in her voice.

"Maybe. He didn't say specifically how because the cause is still unknown. But he said Summoners were disappearing fast that there must be another explanation." I answered.

"Whatever it is, be on guard. We leave tomorrow." Auron said seriously, which meant that he was calling it a day. He stood up and walked out of the dining area. Kimahri followed him, probably to stand and guard Yuna with her activities outside.

"Gee, what a ray of sunshine." I commented, and the rest and I wandered off outside as well, hoping to find a way to help Yuna.

 **AN: Did Auron seem a bit masochistic? I thought just hitting the goal post itself wouldn't be enough incentive to get Tidus out of his depressive and suppressed rage, so I thought Auron volunteering to be hit would do it. Let me know your thoughts. The next post will be a double post as well, an Auron and Rikku POV. For Aurikku fans, stay tuned! ^_^**


	12. The Start of Sin

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **Chapter 12: The Start of Sin**

 _ **Auron**_

He was always in awe with the little things in Spira. The temples, the fiends, the geography, the people, and the lack of machina. It reminded me so much of his father, Jecht, all throughout our pilgrimage with Braska, minus the excessive want for alcohol and women. There were times that I would envy his childlike enthusiasm. For far too long, the cycle of death and Sin in Spira somehow never allowed one to view this world in rose-colored glasses, never allow you to see the beauty that are sometimes lying in front of you.

There were times that I would wish I had his innocence. How wonderful would it be to walk these Spiran paths with no knowledge of the terrors lurking in its shadows. You would only feel the sense of adventure. Maybe if there was no Sin, and things had been totally different, I would have become an Explorer bent on finding rare relics and spheres hidden in Spira. This was a good daydream, but the present will always jolt one back to reality.

I was a man on a mission. And I had promises to fulfill.

"This is the Moonflow." Lulu said, more to Tidus than to anyone else. Over the course of the pilgrimage, she had become Tidus' tutor of some sorts, letting him know simple facts about the places and things in Spira.

"These are moonlilies! They say that clouds of pyreflies gather here when night falls." Yuna exclaimed, rushing over to the riverbank to look at the said plants.

"The entire river glows, like a sea of stars." Lulu added, following after Yuna.

"Really? Hey, I got an idea!" Tidus said, putting his hands behind his head, barely containing his excitement.

I knew what he was about to say. I hated being the one to ruin everyone's joy though. Contrary to what other people's first impressions about me , I did know how to have fun and enjoy simple things. But not today, we have to cross the Moonflow River before it gets dark to be safe. "We're not waiting till nightfall." I told everyone.

Tidus frowned, like the one he used to give when I denied him ice cream back when he was little. "Then, once we beat Sin, we're coming back!"

Wakka scratched his head; Lulu looked down and probably found the moogle doll she was holding interesting. I had a feeling no one had ever told Tidus what awaits us on the last battle versus Sin, or what awaits in the ruins of Zanarkand Dome. I also did not have the heart to tell him. But soon the truth will come after him. The boy will be very hurt when he realizes what was going to happen.

"Hey, we better hurry or we'll miss the shoopuf!" The red-head reminded.

"Shoopuf? What is that?" Tidus asked.

"You'll see." Yuna said, smiling at him.

We turned towards the bending road and a port greeted us. There lies the shoopuf, a gentle, gigantic, azure animal with long legs, a fat belly, and equally long trunk as a nose. It was rolling and unrolling its trunk every once in a while, drawing water from the river and spraying it on its feet. Tidus immediately ran towards it, wide-eyed and amazed. It reminded me of the time when he was ten and I took him to the Zanarkand Dinosaur Museum, but all the robotic dinosaurs there couldn't match the wonder he had for the Spiran animal at that moment.

"What the? Whoa!" He petted the animal and was surprised when it trumpeted.

While the others were purchasing tickets for the ride, I walked towards the hind of the shoopuf, wondering and wanting to check something. I chuckled when I noticed a diagonal scar on its left leg. I touched it, finding it unbelievable that it was there.

"What's the matter?" Tidus asked as he looked at me, curiosity overcoming him.

"Jecht." I answered, hiding the nostalgia in my voice. "We stopped for the night at this port. He, of course, went out for a drink and got drunk. When he went out of the tavern, he thought this shoopuf was a fiend and struck it. The Hypellos were beyond irate. Braska and I had to give up all our money to appease them."

Tidus furrowed his eyebrows. He always had an inexplicable expression whenever I talk about his father. I knew he still hated my old friend for what he had been. "What an idiot." He said.

"He always was." I told him, and it made him smirk.

"Hey guys, time to get on the shoopuf!" Wakka called out, and I saw the others gathering towards the makeshift stairwell to access the carriage atop the shoopuf.

"Let's go."

xxxxx

"Hey. Take a look." Wakka nudged Tidus' side to get his attention. He pointed to the view lying beneath the river. Tidus sat up with his knees resting on the chair of the carriage and his hands on the wooden railing, like a child intent on watching the view of the window on a train ride.

"Whoa, a sunken city!"

"A machina city - a thousand years old! They built the city on top of bridges across the river." Wakka explained.

"But the weight of the city caused the bridges to collapse, and it all sank to the bottom." Lulu added.

"Right. It's a good lesson." The red-haired man remarked. And I braced myself knowing the Yevon-biased tirade I would hear from that man.

"A lesson?" Tidus asked curiously.

"Yeah. Why build a city over a river, ya?"

Tidus scratched his head. His simple-mindedness was about to show itself. "Uh... Well, it would be convenient, with all that water there."

"Nope, that's not why. They just wanted to prove they could defy the laws of nature!" Wakka insisted with a passion, pounding the empty seat beside him with his fist. "Yevon has taught us: When humans have power, they seek to use it. If you don't stop them, they go too far, ya?"

There it was. The half-truth that Yevon used to control the minds of the people of Spira and started the abstinence of using machina. It was not machina that was the problem. It was the darkness in the hearts of those who were in power. They were the ones who go too far to keep the power that they have, even at the expense of others. I cringed inwardly as I remembered that my thirteen year old mouth spouted the same lines as Wakka when I was a younger warrior monk guarding a priest who was proselytizing an Al Bhed community off the coast of Luca at the height of the Al Bhed discrimination and racial wars. It was before the Al Bhed gathered as one and declared themselves as a nation and built their Home in Bikanel. And way before I met the Bevelle diplomat Braska and his future Al Bhed wife, Raenn.

"Yeah, but don't you use machina, too? Like the stadium and stuff, right?" Tidus reminded the red-head.

"Yevon, it decides...which machina we may use, and which we may not." Lulu answered, a sombre tone.

Tidus went wide-eyed. Yes, Tidus, that's how powerful the Yevon Church is in Spira.

"So which kind of machina may we not use, then?"

"Remember Operation Mi'ihen? That kind." Wakka replied.

"Or war will rage again." Lulu added.

"War?" Tidus enquired again. This was the price for his innocence. He lived a sheltered life in dream Zanarkand. Even the Zanarkand of his time as a city was sheltered. Their timeline on that dream was before the Zanarkand - Bevelle war, and the only things written on the pages of their history books during his school days were of the great men who built the high-tech metropolis. There was no war that mars terror and fear in the minds of the children. It was the best dream a sleeping Fayth could ever imagine.

"More than a thousand years ago... Mankind waged war using machina to kill." Yuna expounded for the confused blond-head.

It was mainly Zanarkand and Bevelle at war for power and domination, but the little nation-states scattered in between them declared allegiances and sided with each one. These nations were afraid they'd be caught in the crossfire. So, instead of becoming open cities, base camps were made. Soon enough, they became pawns of the war as well.

"They kept building more and more powerful machina." Wakka recounted.

Yes, and they even put Summoners on the front lines of an infantry. Hundreds of Aeons versus hundreds of Aeons on the other side. Machina that could blow up cities short of a few seconds were following behind. The aftermath? An endless cycle of revenge and bloodshed. One won, the other lost. And so the other would build a bigger, better machina that they thought would execute their vengeance. One won, and the other lost again. This dragged on and on.

"They made weapons so powerful... It was thought they could destroy the entire world." Lulu described further.

"The people feared that Spira would be destroyed." Yuna added.

"Wh-What happened then?" Tidus asked, his ears probably could not believe what he was hearing.

"Sin came, and it destroyed the cities and their machina." Yuna answered.

"The war ended...and our reward...was Sin." Lulu added as a conclusion.

"So, Sin's our punishment for lettin' things get out of hand, eh?" Wakka stated, certain of his point.

Another one of Yevon's misconceptions intended to gain dominion over the people of Spira – to get them to worship Yevon and subdue them to this spiral of death. It was not exactly a punishment, but a byproduct of the Zanarkand - Bevelle War and the psychopath Summoner Yu Yevon who created Sin, commanding it to destroy all the machina cities. Snake-face Yunalesca, Yu Yevon's daughter, of course, added her spin on it and had the old men of Bevelle wrapped around her little finger, creating the Yevon Church and the farce of a pilgrimage to defeat Sin using a Final Aeon taken from a Guardian who was made into a Fayth. The ten year Calm? That was Yu Yevon recreating Sin, regenerating his impenetrable armor using the Guardian Fayth as his core. This was a story to be told to them another day.

"Man, that's rough. But, it's not like the machina are bad." Tidus pointed out. No doubt he was basing it from his experience in dream Zanarkand. The machina there, they were nothing but helpful in the everyday lives of the city's citizens.

"Only as bad as their users." Lulu replied. I had to smile behind my collar at that, thankful that someone in the party had more sense regarding this topic.

"It's because of people like the Al Bhed are screwin' everything up!" Wakka spat, his tone showing indignation. I looked at Yuna who had a poker-face. I surmised the red-head did not know about her Al Bhed lineage. If he had, maybe he would have shown more tolerance and respect.

"Uhh, Wakka, I don't think the Al Bhed's are that bad." Tidus said to the red-head and looked sideways at Yuna.

 _Splash!_

There was something moving underneath the river. I shook my head, noting that I'm not that good at fighting underwater. Yuna tried to stand up and take a look, but I commanded her to sit down. But the moment that she did, an arm grabbed her and pulled her off the carriage and onto the river.

"Tidus, Wakka!" I called out for them, and they immediately dove to the river. This was not good. We hadn't had the chance to practice underwater fighting yet. The Moonflow River was the first body of water we encountered in the pilgrimage.

But I remembered the instance in Luca where they had to fight fiends underwater in the Blitzball arena. They were capable. I had to remind myself. The enemy was only a machina, trapping Yuna inside some sort of a container contraption. With Tidus' haste spell and Wakka's lightning strike, they could have more tactical advantage and bring enough damage to free Yuna. In between, they would dodge or block the machina's attack, or heal their wounds with potions. I smiled at that. They were finally learning the subtle ways of combat that I constantly remind them during our sparring matches. _Find your enemy's weakness and attack it with your strength. Know when to be patient, and when not to be._

After one powerful overdrive from Wakka, the bubble contraption cracked and with one more blow angled from above by Tidus, it opened. Yuna broke free from the machina, and Wakka immediately swam after her and lead her to the surface. Kimahri and I quickly had our hands out to help them back to the shoopuf carriage. Lulu catered to Yuna who was in a bit of a shock.

"Well done," I said to both of them. The red-head smiled humbly, but the blonde-haired smiled wickedly.

"Did you see my last blow against the machina?" He asked, and I knew this tone very well. It was that excitement he usually displayed after a blitzball game whenever he made an almost-impossible shot to score a goal. _Auron, did you see that shot I made?_ I would humor him. _How could I miss it, Tidus? You were always hogging the blitzball._ He would snap back. _I do not!_

"Yes, very well executed," I said to him this time. Of course, underwater he had no problems with his footing, unlike on land where he was like a frog trying to tap dance. "But don't let it get to your head." As I was standing in front of him, I poked his forehead with my gloved pointing finger. He rubbed his nose and reddened a bit. Then I sat next to a shivering Yuna and handed her my red coat.

Wakka just laughed and patted Tidus' shoulder. "So, it was the Al Bhed's that was causing the disappearance of Summoners. We sure showed those sand-blasted greasy monkeys."

I felt Yuna squirm beside me. Wakka had a point, but he didn't have to add an insult. I wondered what the Al Bhed were doing kidnapping Summoners. What, were they planning on using them for an Aeon war with Bevelle in revenge for the failed Operation Mi'ihen? I had no idea, but I had to remind myself to make the team practice underwater fights from now on.

 **AN: Chapter 13 is already up as well. It's the moment where Auron and Rikku meet. Thank you guys for sticking around this long, especially for Aurikku fans, hope it'd be worth the wait.**


	13. Green Eyes

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **AN: Here it is! The long awaited moment for Auron and Rikku. Hope you enjoy it!**

 **Chapter 12: Green Eyes**

 _ **Rikku**_

It wasn't a dumb plan. Hey, I promise you we thought about it really really carefully, especially on when to strike. Water and machina. They were the two things us Al Bhed were good at. Two things I'm pretty good at as well. So, we waited until they were in Moonflow River before we struck. Yeah, ninja style, take that. And no one was going to die, unlike that Operation Mi'ihen where I lost two uncles, an aunt, and five cousins (I still cry at night for them). And it had good intentions too. We were doing it for Yunie. Yeah, kidnap her so Pops, Brother, and I could knock some sense to her that her death wish for good ol' Spira is plainly ridiculous.

It was just… I don't know… executed poorly, I guess. Blame it on the machina, the container wasn't supposed to crack open. Who was the mechanic who revived that piece of crap again? Oh, was it me? Heh heh heh.

Anyway, we weren't counting on Blondie and Ginger to chase us. The original plan was just to snatch Yunie and run-err, swim-as fast as hell. But they caught up on us, and boy, did they put up a fight. Ginger-head dished out his spiky blitzball and kept hitting me with lightningstrike. Yeah, lightning! Didn't I say I hate lightning? Not that kid-doesn't-want-to-eat-brussel-sprouts-hate lightning. No, it's the I'm-gonna-palpitate-so-bad-and-have-a-cardiac-arrest-hate lightning. I tried to defend myself, really. But before I knew it, Ginger was in Overdrive, sending out a barrage of lightningstrikes. Then, Blondie dealt me with a somersault blow from above. The machina was overheating from the damage, and like it or not, I had to release Yunie. I maneuvered as fast as I could to the river's deep end and escaped the overheated machina before it exploded.

For the love of Bikanel sand dunes, Pops was gonna be furious. I could already imagine him yelling at me, veins throbbing on his temple and neck as if they were about to burst. Ahh, what to do, what to do? Somehow, the old adage "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" was ringing in my ears. Literally. I had to show myself to Yunie, at least talk her out of her martyrdom. If it means persuading her to let me join her death march so I could brainwash her into abandoning it, then so be it.

I was on the riverbank, peeling off my wetsuit when he ran into me.

"Rikku! You're Rikku! Hey, you're ok! How you been!" Blondie exclaimed, surprise and excitement in his bones. We had not seen each other ever since Sin attacked our boat near Baaj. Now that I heard his cheerful voice, I was sure glad we met again. Though I really should stop calling him Blondie. Yours truly was blonde as well.

"Terrible!" I was kicking off the part of my wetsuit that got stuck on my foot.

"Yeah, you don't look so good. What happened?"

"You beat me up, remember?"

"Oh! That machina... That was you?"

"That really hurt, you know. You big meanie!" I punched his arm softly.

"W-Wait! But you attacked us!" Confusion was now creeping on his face.

"Nuh-uh. It's not exactly what you think." How could I explain it to him? Our intentions and motivations as Al Bhed and part of being the only family Yunie had left could not be wrapped up in a short story.

"Yo! Friend of yours?" Ginger came up to us. Yunie and the rest of her party soon followed after.

"Uh, you could say that." Tidus smiled ruefully, unsure if he should say I was the one operating the machina they attacked earlier.

Big smile, Rikku! "Pleased to meet you! I'm Rikku!"

"Yuna, Lulu... I told you about her, remember? She was the one who helped me before I was washed up on Besaid! She's an Al Bhe...beh..." Tidus looked sideways at Lulu and Yuna who were shaking their heads. Ah, something smells fishy.

"Wow, so you, like, owe her your life! What luck meeting here, ya? Praise be to Yevon!" And Ginger did the Yevon prayer thingie. Great, that was it. There's a stuck-up Yevon worshipper in the group. I don't think he noticed Tidus' tiny slip though. Guess his head was so filled with Yevon rubbish that it had no more space for a brain.

I looked to the left and saw Yunie staring at me, standing beside a man with a red coat and sunglasses. Gee, it's almost dusk. Who bloody wears sunglasses at dus–

I felt Yunie swiftly wrapping me in an embrace. "Rikku."

"Hey, I missed you too, big cousin." I hugged her back as warmth spread all over me. Who wouldn't miss her? It had been years since Pops and I visited her in Besaid to persuade her to come live with us, but she insisted that she wanted to stay there. Yunie, all sweetness and grace and kindness. When Uncle Braska and Aunt Raenn would bring her to Home when we were younger, she would let me play with her dolls, marbles, and jackstones and never ever wonder why she never got them back. Yunie, who could ever hurt her? She could probably make an advancing Tonberry retreat just by a stare from those tender blue and green eyes. Even Pops had a soft spot for her, probably because she looked so much like my Aunt Raenn, Pops' younger sister who was her mother. Yunie. I suddenly remember the plan and felt no regret in doing it.

"We need to discuss something." She said, pulling me to the side. She motioned for the lady in black who I guessed was Lulu to come as well.

"Girls only! Boys please wait over there!" I playfully said, hoping that they would give us space. They did so, grudgingly.

"Was it you?" Yuna asked me, and I had to bow my head slightly in shame. Yunie was never dull. If there was an appearance of any high-tech machina in Spira, trust that there was always an Al Bhed behind it nearby.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Yuna, we had to. Do you think Pops, Brother, and I will just let you die?"

"Rikku, I made my choice. Willingly."

"It still doesn't make it right. There must be some other way!"

She paused for a moment, slowly closing and opening her eyes. I knew already what she was going to ask.

"Please tell me. Where are the other Summoners?"

The lady in black looked at me pointedly, and I fixed my gaze somewhere else, finding the belts in her dress a bit interesting. Why did she have so many belts in the first place? "…Somewhere safe." I half-whispered.

"Why is the Al Bhed doing it? Was it Uncle Cid's idea?"

"Because it had to be stopped."

"Rikku, the pilgrimage is the only way." She said firmly, probably hoping the idea would not be tuned out in my ears. Yeah, the Al Bhed did have a habit of tuning out everything to do with Yevon. She suddenly smiled though, as a bright idea entered her head. "Join me. As a Guardian."

Ah, wasn't that what I was hoping for? But an Al Bhed as a Guardian? Wouldn't that be heresy to the rest of Yevon? Wait, why am I thinking about what Yevon would think anyway? This was all about saving Yunie. "I would like to. Just to keep you safe. But I still don't approve of Yevon's way. I'll-I'll think of something along the way."

"You would have to be quiet about your lineage though. Wakka has a strong prejudice against the Al Bhed's." Lulu warned.

"Yeah, I think I got a hint of it already."

"And there's someone I'd like to ask for approval on this." Yunie stated, a bit worried.

"Sir Auron?" Lulu asked, and Yunie nodded to where the man with a red coat was standing.

"Uhh, Auron? You mean Auron the Legendary Guardian? As in the Guardian of Uncle Braska who brought the last Calm?" I asked, dumbfounded. Who knew the dude with the sunglasses was _him_?

Yuna smiled. "Yes, don't worry. He's not as intimidating as you think he is." She pulled my hand, and suddenly I was standing a few feet before the almighty legend.

"Sir Auron… I would like Rikku to be my guardian." Yuna said, and I could hear a bit of a plea in the way she said it. Kind of like when I say to Pops _please please I won't crash the speeder this time please,_ but in a much more subtle way.

Big Red and Brawny looked at me but didn't say anything though. Either way, what does a scrawny, little, teenage Al Bhed girl say in front of a legend? Hey, I maybe small, but I can synth and mix items and make them go boom! Or hey, I could swipe your wallet faster than you can say 'Yevon'. Somehow, they didn't seem appropriate enough compared to the humongous sword he was hauling. So, like a nitwit cactuar who was born with no needles, I looked down at his shoes instead, wondering why they had metal platings. So, a fiend couldn't stomp on his foot?

"Show me your face." He said, voice smooth as a sharp knife cutting a chilled block of butter. "Look at me."

What did Lulu say about my lineage? Yeah, be quiet about it. Hey, right now's a good start. I faced him with eyes closed. Unfortunately, he found it funny and chuckled a bit, a deep rumble. "Open your eyes."

Argh, there was just no escaping it! I opened my left eye, and his own, lone left eye was staring back at me. I noticed his right eye was badly scarred, marring his face from the right side of his forehead up to his right cheek. Maybe that's why he was wearing sunglasses. He must like it better than an eye patch. I pictured him wearing an eye patch in my head. Ick, the idea made him look like an overgrown pirate in a cheap Luca film production. Yeah, definitely not an eye-patch guy.

"As I thought." He looked away after our short staring-contest. Ha, I won! Take that, almighty legend! No one could beat these eyes. These green swirling-patterned orbs could hypnotize a Hypello to do a lap dance for you. You might puke at the idea, but hey, they really worked.

"Um… no good?" I asked him, suddenly worried that he may be someone like Wakka.

"Are you certain?" He looked at me again, but this time his good eye was intentionally stern.

His question was short and packed a lot of punch if you expound it. Are you certain that you can handle it? Are you certain that you are willing to risk your life for Yuna? Are you certain that you will not abandon your duty out of fear? Are you even certain at all?

My answer to all those was yes. Nothing mattered to me more at that moment than Yunie. So, I looked at him with a smile and bounced. "A hundred percent! So, can I?"

He seemed to be stunned momentarily by my merry voice. "If Yuna wishes it." His gaze travelled back to my cousin.

"Yes, I do." Yunie confirmed, smiling brightly, as if she just received every gift on her wish list from Father Christmas.

"Alrighty! Magnificent Rikku, at your service!"


	14. Not by Numbers

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **Chapter 14: Not By Numbers**

 _ **Auron**_

Seven.

It was a large number for a Summoner's party, but a party nonetheless. There was a story about a Summoner who had fifteen Guardians. They were untrained men and women, but they believed their numbers could overcome the fiends they would encounter along the way. After each city and plains and woods they passed, one among them died because of the fiends, until there was only one Guardian left. That party never made it past Gagazet.

This party will never be like them.

Every day, before our scheduled sparring matches that occured after breakfast, I took stock of everyone's strengths and weaknesses.

Tidus was quick and agile in his movements, but his attacks were mediocre in strength. He was useful in swift fiends but ineffective in armored ones. No, those were best left for me and the Ronso for we carry heavier weapons. But he was slowly gaining his footing and even developing his own style of attacks that were mixed with his Blitzball grace. He will be a formidable fighter in time, even capable of surpassing me or the Ronso. The problem though? He still didn't know how to mind his surroundings.

"Youch! Youch!" He screamed as he ran to the riverbank, clothes on fire. Today, I had Lulu and Wakka assigned to him as his sparring partners. He managed to last for more than five minutes, attacking Wakka while evading Lulu's black magic. Unfortunately, when he dodged another of Wakka's darkness strike effortlessly, Lulu had just blasted him with a Fira simultaneously. He came back out of the riverbank, hair and clothes a bit singed.

"Surroundings, Tidus. What did I tell you about them?" I asked him, handing him a towel.

"Err – that it's both a weapon and a distraction?" He answered while drying off his wet hair. I should have started training him how to fight when he was still under my care in Zanarkand, but I didn't have the heart to pry him away from his beloved Blitzball.

"And how do you prevent it from becoming a distraction, or using it as a weapon?"

"Situational awareness."

"Good. Always remember that."

I smiled at the black mage and the red-head. She and Wakka made a strong team. Wakka would lace his blitzball with sleep or darkness, and when it hit the opponent, the black mage behind him would just fire away with her black magic, Fira, Thundara, Blizzara, Watera. Whatever element that would make the foe stagger. Their weakness? Silence the mage and take away the blitzball from the red-head. Which was exactly what the blue Ronso did. With his Lancet ability, he performed the Ochu Dance that silenced and confused the black mage. Wakka was alone, but instead of helping Lulu, he threw a darkness strike at the Ronso. Kimahri responded with his spear, throwing it and piercing the red-head's blitzball to a Moonflow tree. The Ronso then jumped on the red-head, tackled him to the ground, and growled menacingly.

"Oh, I submit, ya! I submit!" The red-head shouted, tapping the ground. Lulu was in a haze, casting Blizzara on herself, or sometimes zapping the red-head with a Thundara.

The Ronso moved away from Wakka. I helped the red-head up and patted the Kimahri's shoulder as congratulation.

"Lesson, Wakka?" I asked the red-head.

"I shouldn't have attacked alone. Shoulda' helped Lu first, ya? Shoulda' thrown her a Remedy."

"Yes. It is always better to help your fallen comrade first rather than attacking alone. No matter what other fighters say, that method always brings greater tactical advantage." I advised him. Playing hero by attacking fiends alone while your comrades were down would only get one killed.

"Two heads are always better than one. Got it." The red-head nodded and walked over to the spinning Lulu to give her a Remedy.

"We have to keep training you on close quarter combat as well." I reminded him.

This day my sparring match was with Yuna to help her practice with her Aeons, aside from the duels she gets from Belgemine from time to time. But since we had added a new teammate to the party, I thought of pairing myself up with the Al Bhed. I really didn't have a clue on how the Al Bhed girl fights, but I did not want to frighten her by setting her on a fight against me individually or with Yuna and her Aeons.

I unsheathed my arm that was tucked under my red gi and stretched it as I prepared myself for a Stoic stance.

"I'm right behind you, Boss!" The Al Bhed girl said proudly, posed in a half-crouch stance.

I nodded to Yuna and she summoned the first Aeon she wanted to call. The clouds darkened and the ground before us flashed red. Suddenly, a winged Aeon swooped down from the sky. So, Valefor was her choice. A flyer. I was sometimes ineffective against this type of opponent. Of course, all about attacking weaknesses with your strengths. I taught them that. But Valefor was huge, and I could still strike it when caught off guard.

"Yikes!" Rikku exclaimed, fear and amazement in her eyes as she saw the huge, flying Aeon.

"Rikku, concentrate!" I said to her.

Yuna wasted no time and commanded Valefor to attack with a Sonic Wing repeatedly. I put my feet on the ground firmly and used my katana to block the huge gusts of wind. I looked to the side and was surprised to see the Al Bhed girl evading. So, she was fast, faster than Tidus ever was. She ran towards the Aeon and swiped something, a smile spreading on her face. Ah, a little thief as well. I wondered what she had stolen. Then she rummaged through her pockets and threw something at the Aeon. It made four consecutive explosions and caused the Aeon to stagger. I did not have time to ask her what she did as Valefor, seemingly angry, immediately went Overdrive. I quickly motioned towards her and pushed her behind my back, the Energy Ray scorching my arms and bringing me down to my knees.

"Auron!" The Al Bhed girl shouted in shock.

"You are fast… Support me with your potions and attack when you can... I'll guard you." I said to her in heaving breaths. Pain was shooting up my spine, but I was determined to keep my Stoic stance and have her a few paces behind me.

"Got it!" She replied, throwing a mega-potion at me.

So, that had been our strategy against the Aeon. I would guard her repeatedly from all of Valefor's attacks, then she would throw potions at me when she thought I was at my critical point. Then she would throw some explosives at the Aeon in between. After Valefor's last attack with her claws lacerating my right arm, I felt the energy in me finally reaching its maximum. I reached Overdrive.

There were many finishing blows that I was itching to try, but some of them I was already rusty at. Ten years in dream Zanarkand would do that. There was no way I could practice them back then. What should one do, throw a Tornado at a local market thief? An appropriate finishing blow surfaced in my mind. Anyhow, this was just a sparring match. If I failed and made a fool of myself, that would point to the others that I'm not a perfect fighter. I would tell them that and encourage them to step up.

With that on my mind, I dashed to Valefor at high speed. Then summoning all my energy and unleashing it at one blow, I jumped and swiftly swung my katana at the Aeon's middle section. Surprisingly, the Aeon was pushed back greatly and crashed to the Moonflow trees behind it. Within seconds, Valefor dissolved into pyreflies.

Shooting Star. A small smile spread to my face. I didn't think I would be able to execute it perfectly after years of not being able to use it. It was luck. Pretty, dumb luck. I looked back to the others and they were clapping. Tidus was doing the whistling thing.

As soon as I gained my footing, I walked to Yuna who had shock written all over her face.

"I… I'll do better next time." She said shyly, her defeat washing over her.

"No, you did well. Very well. Valefor was responding to all your commands as soon as she hears it. She has grown stronger under your care." I said to our Summoner, consoling her. Then with a soft smile, I raised to her my left arm, showing her numerous deep gashes. "Your Aeon almost sliced my arm off."

"Let me heal it." Yuna said, no longer embarrassed. She placed her hand on my wounds, uttered a white magic, and they closed and disappeared quickly.

"Thank you." I said to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

I walked back to the Al Bhed girl. She was slumped on the floor, but she looked at me cheerfully despite her exhaustion.

"I would never ever ever ever want to be at the other end of your katana."

I crouched to her level. It seemed like she could keep her mouth shut at simple matters. So, I told her how I saw what I did with my Overdrive. "It was… dumb luck. Haven't done it for more than a decade."

Her ears perked up with this. "Rrrreally? I don't see you carrying around fifty luck spheres."

"How would you know?"

"Oh, because I would have swiped them already." She said confidently, her smile bright as the morning sun.

"Ah, yes. You are a thief."

"Only to fiends, yeah. And to stiff Yevonites." She half-whispered the latter part. "And to stuck-up Guados. Would never steal from a fellow Al Bhed though. Well, I would, but only as a revenge. And I would never dare steal from a Ronso too, you know. They could maul me in a heartbeat. But warrior monks and legendary guardians? Psshh…they would never even see me coming."

I raised an eyebrow at her last comment. She stood up and straightened up her clothes, brushing the dust off. Then she threw something brown at me.

It was my wallet.

"How did…?" I was speechless and barely able to form a sentence. Really a rare phenomenon.

"Hey, it was sticking out of your pocket during our practice match. So, my little thief self said to me I should keep it for you in the meantime. If I hadn't, you might have lost it somewhere by the time you did your extremely scary Overdrive. I promise you I never looked at the insides of it. So, don't go chasing me with the intent of cutting me in half."

I laughed at that. You know that kind of laugh that came from the pit of the stomach? I think I had never laughed like that ever since I came to Spira. In dream Zanarkand, I had. Watching over Tidus had humor enough to last a lifetime. But in Spira there was only death. And death was never funny.

"Thank you, Rikku." I said to her. She was looking at me curiously. Maybe my laugh caught her off guard. Yes, because I was always the silent one, second to Kimahri.

"Anytime, Boss." She replied, rubbing her nose.

Something came to my mind. Switching over to battle tactics, I asked her, "The explosions. How do you do them?"

"Oh, that. I can combine things. Grenades, fiend marbles, cores, for example. Those things, I synthesize them rapidly. Then they go boom! It's a peculiar knack of mine."

"Only to explode?"

"Well, maybe if I get the right combinations, I can do something opposite."

"Ah, we'll work on that then." I said to her and looked back to the others. Just when I was about to turn to a different direction, she called out to me.

"May I look at your sword?" She asked me.

"What?" It seemed like a strange thing to ask me. What was she going to do with my sword? Try to swing it or haul it?

"Your sword. I'm just going to look at it." She insisted. "Pleaaase."

Oh, well, what harm could be done?

"Be careful. The blade is sharp." I warned her as I stabbed my katana that was resting on my shoulder to the ground. Then she was all over it in a few seconds, feeling the blade and spine, examining the hilt, and scrutinizing the hand-guard. After a few moments, she squealed.

"Ah, there they are!" She exclaimed, running a finger over the four, round slots on the blade hidden right after the hand-guard. "And look you have four!"

I finally realized what she was pertaining to. "The customization slots. You know what to do with them?"

"Bet you, I do! Customizing a weapon is like first grade homework to me." She answered excitedly. "Oooh, the things that I could do to your sword! Let me know how you want it to be customized. If we have the right materials, I'll do it for you."

"Can you do the same for the others?"

"Sure!"

A thief and a blacksmith in one. What luck. She'll be valuable in this team. I nodded in agreement and said thanks. Then I looked back to the others. They were already cleaning up the camp. I walked towards them to help out. She ran past me, eager to help as well.

Seven. I looked at the team I now had.

It wasn't a bad number. In fact, if you were superstitious like those fortunetellers in dream Zanarkand, you would say that it was a strong, persevering number. A good number to have. Seven. One light, fast fighter. One sharpshooter. One black mage. One copy fighter. One little blacksmith thief. One Aeon Summoner. And one warrior monk. In many ways, we complemented each other, filling up what the other lacks and supporting it with our individual strengths.

I just hoped it will be enough to reach the ruined Zanarkand and to sway them to the path that would end all sorrow.

 **AN: I really had fun writing this chapter. And today, I received 1,000 views. Wow! Thank you so much, my dear readers! When I first started posting chapters I didn't think it was possible, but you guys are awesome! I appreciate you all!**


	15. Gaining Speed

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **Chapter 15: Gaining Speed**

 _ **Rikku**_

Did he love pain so much? Because I really had no way of explaining why he would always throw himself in front of us when a fiend was about to attack us. And by us, I mean Lulu, Yunie, and me. I knew what technique he was using. It was Guard. The stance was probably a standard for warrior monks. Then he would be bleeding, burned, lacerated, and beaten up afterwards for a few moments until we throw potions at him, or Yuna heals him.

Was it his way of showing his gentleman manners? Or was it his way of protecting the fairer sex? I never see him do the same for Tidus, Wakka, or Kimahri. Did he think we were weaker? Lulu and Yunie never seemed to mind. Perhaps, they were used to it. But it bothered me so much, I came to a point where I had to ask him one night when the others were already asleep and he was on watch. What did I want to accomplish? I guess I did not want to see him exactly how I saw him when he guarded me for the first time from Valefor's Energy Ray during our last sparring match with Yunie. Burned all over to the third degree. No one was supposed to be harmed that way. Not when it was for good little thief Rikku's sake. No, I wanted to protest. Red Coat just chuckled and dismissed me with a wave of a hand.

"I'm just using one of my strengths, Rikku." He tore his gaze away from the Moonflow trees to address me. I wondered what he was thinking about so seriously before I bothered him.

"But –"

"If I stopped you from mixing or pilfering or stealing from fiends, wouldn't you feel like you're not contributing?"

"Yeah, I would. But you never guard Tidus or Wakka, or even Kimahri."

"They now know defense enough to be able to take damage." He shrugged.

"Then teach us!"

"Lulu should focus on strengthening her black magic. Yuna should focus on controlling her Aeons." General Red said. Then he paused as he regarded me, "You though…"

"Yeah?" My ears couldn't wait to hear what he would say. Maybe it would just be along the lines of 'For the love of Fayth, stop disturbing my peace, Rikku!'; but I had a feeling it would be otherwise.

"You are fast. But I can make you faster. Fast enough that you can evade all types of attacks from any kind of fiends." His good eye looked at me, and I could literally see the gears of his brain spinning. "Would you like it? Are you up to committing a few hours of your resting time for this?"

I grinned from ear to ear. A few hours? Pssh… that's all? "Sure, Boss. When do we start?"

"Later. See me an hour before the break of dawn." He said, and that was it. He went back to stare at the nothingness and darkness that was looming over us beyond the camp fire. Back to his serious thoughts.

xxxxx

He had grace.

I didn't know how a big tank like him could have grace, but that was all I could say as I saw him practicing his martial arts forms. They were probably standard warrior monk routines. Or they were his own. Maybe. I wouldn't really know. I had never seen a warrior monk do their forms, except now.

I sat on a huge rock, a few paces before him and his practice space and looked at him more thoroughly. If he was aware of my presence, he didn't show it and didn't seem to mind it. Anyway, he was moving with his sword as if the two of them were one. Like it was a piece of him no one could ever take away. He was slashing, striking the air, then jumping, spinning, kicking an invisible opponent, then thrusting and swinging his sword again.

He probably had some sort of rhythm on his mind. Every move was perfect, and he had unwavering balance in all his executions. It was like he was dancing to music only he could hear.

After a jumping slashing move, he stopped and stabbed his katana on the ground.

"You're early." He said, no sign of exhaustion from his previous activity. It was still a bit dark, but the camp fire provided enough light for us.

"Uhh, yeah. All about catching worms."

He looked at me as if I suddenly took his broad katana and managed to do the exact forms he did. Or tried to play warrior and swung his sword. Wouldn't that be fun? _You have invaded my property, die scoundrel! Swoosh!_ Well, that is if I could pick up his sword. That thing was almost as big as me.

"Eh? The early bird catches the worm?" I expounded.

"Ah. Best get started then." He turned to his jug that was resting on a log and took a sip.

xxxxx

I ran and ran and ran. I must have ran a hundred times already, but Mr. Do-it-Again wanted me to run some more on the trail that he found in Moonflow. My feet burned and my legs hurt. And I wanted to drink gallons of water. The little bottled one he handed over to me after every lap was just not enough. But I didn't have the guts to tell him.

Before that I was doing dozens of squats and lunges and stretching exercises. Ok, maybe now was the time to rethink my volunteering for some extra training.

"This is not endurance, Rikku. Increase your speed. Do not jog, run!" He said to me once, as I passed by him and finished a lap.

"Ok, Boss!" I replied to him, determined to show him some Rikku-skill as I started another lap. I managed to be faster for five seconds, he said. I grinned like an idiot.

But the ones after that were disasters. I was losing my footing. I was even slipping slightly because of the muddy trail but was able to recover immediately. Still, it added seconds to my laps. Every time I passed by him he was shaking his head. And for the love of shoopuf balls, it felt like those times I had to tell my Pops I got an F on a school essay because I was cramming. And every time I coughed up the same excuse, Pops would roll his eyes almost as if they were going to roll back inside his skull. Maybe _he_ was already rolling his one good eye on me. Wouldn't that be a sight?

"That would be enough." He finally said after my last lap, tucking away the watch he was holding in his hand to his pocket.

"What...? I could… run some more…" I replied to him, catching my breath in between. Perhaps I feared he deemed the whole thing as a waste of time. What a shame I was. I fell to my knees in exhaustion. Oh, well. At least I tried.

He walked towards me and crouched to my level. Then he took off the glove on his right hand with his teeth and reached for my wrist, checking my pulse. He muttered something about it being higher than it was supposed to be. It'll decrease in time, he told me.

"I'm sorry I'm such a fail-"

"Don't." He cut me off. He stood up and gave me a hand to help me stand as well. "I saw your effort. You'll be better in time. Tomorrow, we'll work on your reflexes. But we'll still do a couple of sprints."

"Tomorrow?" I couldn't believe my ears. Tomorrow. That meant that he still wanted to continue our extra training, right? Right?

"Yes, do you not wish to continue?"

"No, I… yeah… I'd like to continue." By this time, I probably had a grin longer than the Mi'ihen Highroad plastered on my face. We'll continue. I'll be training harder to get stronger and help the team protect Yunie, aside from my thinking of other ways to save her. I won't be completely useless against fiend attacks. And in time, he wouldn't have to get hurt by guarding me, because I would be able to handle myself.

He placed his glove back to his hand and started to walk away. A question sprouted in my mind that I just had to ask. "Uhh, Auron? How are we going to work on my reflexes?"

"Hand to hand combat. I'll attack you, and you'll have to evade."

I felt like a lump on my throat suddenly swelled. Oh, boy. What did I get myself into again?

 **AN: Apologies for the shortness of this chapter, but I had to have Rikku and Auron interact on some way to have a foundation for their relationship. But no worries, it isn't love at first sight; I think that wouldn't work here, but a gradual building from friendship to something more. :)**


	16. The Great Tree

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **Chapter 16: The Great Tree**

 _ **Auron**_

You have to give it to the Guado. They were a proud race. Probably the most proud of all Spiran races. They reveled in their language, culture, and their task as the keepers of the Farplane gate and handler of fiends. You'll never meet a Guado who was ashamed of his ethnicity. Never mind their strange hair, their strange looking veins that marked their faces, and their long limbs and pointed claws. A Guado will always love their own. Sometimes even excessively that it made them aloof, xenophobic, and condescending, but they never stopped Summoners from passing through their tree-like ancestral home. During the racial wars though, they would have closed Guadosalam and forbade access to the Farplane for outsiders. The Yevon Church would have never penetrated their closed-minded worldview if not for their bold and audacious Jyscal.

The old diplomat and Guado ambassador to Bevelle wed a human woman against all the protests of both races. He had a son as well, and the half-breed was viewed as an abomination on both sides. There were those who supported Jyscal's family. There were those who didn't. But it didn't matter, Jyscal was next in line as the leader of the Guado, and he used that to his advantage and spread the teachings of Yevon to them. Now, the Guado was one of those who strongly support the Yevon Church. The Yevon Church was beyond happy. Of course, who wouldn't want an army of fiend handlers to be at your beck and call? They decided to grant Jyscal a position as one of the Yevon Maesters as a reward.

But things weren't sailing that smoothly for the Guados. The hatred for the half-breed son of Jyscal and his wife was growing in numbers that Jyscal feared his own people would oust him. So the Guado leader had his wife and son exiled to Baaj. Not many know about this. The Guado liked to keep their own secrets. Especially when what prompted Jyscal to do his dirty deed was the suggestion of the Yevon Maester, Mika, himself.

How do I know all this? When you have a Bevelle Senior Intelligence Operative masquerading as a High Priest-Diplomat as a best friend, you get to talk about these things during one of your drinking sessions. These were the times I missed Braska. I could do well with information such as these.

How were the Guados holding up now? I had no idea. It was about time I find out. We stopped at the Guadosalam entrance as an old Guado greeted us. Now this was most unusual.

"We have been expecting you, Lady Yuna. Welcome to Guadosalam. This way, my lady. This way." The old Guado said and reached out his hand for Yuna.

Wakka was in front of Yuna in an instant, blocking the old Guado's advance. The old Guado retreated.

"I beg your pardon. I am called Tromell Guado. I am in the direct service of our leader, the great Seymour Guado. Lord Seymour has very important business with Lady Yuna."

"Business with me? Whatever could it be, I wonder?" Yuna asked. I was wondering the same thing as well.

"Please, come inside the manor. All will be explained. Of course, your friends are also welcome."

Tromell guided us to the manor that was located at the far north of Guadosalam.

"Truly, it is good to have guests again. Since Lord Jyscal passed away, these halls have been too quiet." Tromell said.

Yes, Jyscal died a few weeks ago. I remembered the broadcast say it when I was at that Luca café. The Guado said it was due to a heart problem. But like I said, the Guado liked to keep their secrets. I smelled foul play somewhere. I just hoped it will not ruin my mission. Seymour, what on Spira are you thinking inviting us to your mansion? What do you want with Yuna?

"The death of Lord Jyscal was a great loss for all of Spira." Yuna replied.

"Truly, a loss for us all. But now a new leader, Lord Seymour, has come before us. Lord Seymour is the child of a Guado and a human. He will be the tie that binds our two races together. Lord Seymour will…" Tromell ranted on and on, and honestly, his voice was so monotonous and boring he could as well be reading the headlines and breaking news of Spira Daily, and I wouldn't give a damn. Give me Seymour, so we could get this over with.

"That is enough, Tromell." Seymour said as he finally showed up. Speak of the devil. "Must I always endure such praise? Welcome! Please make yourselves at home. There's no rush."

My ears must have instantly turned red in anger. No rush? Jecht's time was almost up. I needed to shape this team up and get them to Zanarkand Dome as soon as possible. I needed to make them see the whole lie that governs Spira. No rush? Of course, Seymour wouldn't know anything about that, would he?

"Please, keep this short. Yuna must rush." I said to him, seething.

He must have gotten my drift because he said his apologies and led us quickly to an upstairs room. There was a feast prepared for us, but I paid no attention to the food. The room immediately darkened and every wall and ceiling changed into images of stars and planets. A sphere hologram. In dream Zanarkand, they used this for their cinemas. In a flash, all the images in the room changed to a city. Zanarkand itself.

The blonde boy exclaimed the name of the city in surprise. No doubt he missed it. I wondered how the blue-haired half-breed got the necessary amount of images to be able to create a sphere hologram.

"Yes, Zanarkand! The wondrous machina city. And this sphere is a reconstruction created from the thoughts of the dead Zanarkand citizens that wander the Farplane." He said to everyone. Then he turned to Yuna. "She once lived in this metropolis."

Then an image of a bedroom and a woman walking appeared out of nowhere. I stiffened at the sight. I knew that lady. Snake-face. She was the one who took my two best friends' lives. Who caused my death. Who perpetrated the lie that controls Spira. I clenched my fists in anger.

"Lady Yunalesca. She was the first person to defeat Sin and save the world from its ravages. And you have inherited her name." Blue-haired Guado was speaking again.

"It was my father who named me." Yuna replied.

"Lord Braska was entrusting you with a great task. He wanted you to face Sin, as Lady Yunalesca did. However, Lady Yunalesca did not save the world alone. To defeat the undefeatable Sin...it took an unbreakable bond of love - of the kind that binds two hearts for eternity."

An image of a man walking towards the snake-face lady. Zaon. If you knew the fate of the Guardians and Summoners at the end of the pilgrimage when they reach Zanarkand Dome, then you would know Zaon became the second Sin in the cycle of death that would last a thousand years.

Seymour leaned to Yuna and whispered something to her ear. Yuna turned red and was clearly surprised. She stepped back and took a glass of water from the nearby table where a feast was prepared and drank it. Tidus went to her instantly and asked if she was ok.

"He… he asked me to marry him." She said nervously. Marriage. Of course, Yuna was too young to understand that concept.

"You know what Yuna must do." I was instantly back to my seething again. This whole visit was a waste of time. I did not know if the other guardians noticed it, but Seymour was clearly up to something. It was up to me to protect Yuna from this situation.

The blue-haired half-breed spoke again. Something about easing the suffering of Spira and bringing peace. Yuna being the leader. Him proposing as a maester. It was nothing but pretense; a show meant to entertain but will do nothing to end the cycle of death of Spira.

I told him a piece of my mind. "Spira is no playhouse. A moment's diversion may amuse an audience, but  
it changes nothing."

"Even so, the actors must play their parts. There's no need to answer right away. Please, think it over."

Seymour said.

There it was. He said it himself. He wanted Yuna and himself to play and act for Spira's lack of public, romantic entertainment. Can I prevent Yuna from this? I could place enough doubt for Seymour in her head that she wouldn't think twice about not marrying him. Or should I let her decide? Let her choose what would make her happy, as long as it doesn't damage my mission. It would set us back for a couple of months. Seymour would want to guard Yuna as well. What would happen then?

"We will do so, then. We leave." I told Seymour. The others were already heading towards the door, when blue-haired spoke again.

"Why are you still here, sir? I beg your pardon. We Guado are keen to the scent of the Farplane."

I stopped for a moment. So, the Guado could sense people like me. Just as how I could sense other people like me. And there were many of us wandering around Spira. Should I start naming them one by one? Maybe we could form our own club, name it as The Walking Dead. I remembered there was a television series in dream Zanarkand by that name. Perhaps, the club would have to pay royalties; the name was copyrighted.

I ignored the blue-haired half-breed. He didn't need to know what ties an unsent like me to this world. Tidus didn't miss the chance to play clown though. He sniffed at me humorously. I pushed him away and started walking towards the door. You'll know soon enough, kid.

The others gathered outside of Seymour's manor. They were talking about the implications of Yuna's marriage to Seymour. Lulu said something about how grand the union would be: a High Summoner's daughter and a Half-breed Leader of Guado. It was indeed quite a match. Wakka's thoughts were on my side. It was only a moment's diversion. Tidus wanted to fight Sin as soon as possible. I'm sure he was a bit ticked off by the subject matter. Everyone could see he was falling for Yuna. Then there was still this lingering problem of him not knowing what happened to Summoners at the end of the pilgrimage. The little thief didn't say anything. Yuna though, she was thinking about it seriously. All for the sake of Spira's joy. She was as selfless as a mother bear that would protect her cubs from other predators. Who was I to stop her? She said she would continue the pilgrimage. That was fine enough with me. The mission would be delayed, but it would continue. If I had to push it, I won't hesitate. I will not let this matter compromise my promise to Jecht and Braska.

Yuna wanted to go visit the Farplane. The party indulged her. Perhaps, yearning for their presence and guidance, she wanted to see the image of her mother and father. When we were at the entrance, I took a seat on the stairs. Tidus seemed surprised that I wasn't coming along with them. The little thief also stood by the railings. She explained to the boy what happens when one visits the Farplane. _Pyreflies react to your desire to see your dead loved ones_. _But they're not really there. They're just an illusion._

Then she said something that made me regard her in a new light despite her young age.

"I keep my memories inside. Memories are nice, but that's all they are." She said to Tidus. The boy nodded and seemingly understood. He followed after Yuna and the rest of the party.

There was silence between me and her. I became tired of looking at Yuna's situation in different angles, so I looked at the little thief and wondered what she was thinking. It didn't take long before she looked at me as well and spoke her mind.

"They don't even know each other. Why would you marry someone you barely know?" She asked me. But her gaze turned back on the expanse before the railing she was standing along on.

"Some cultures do it. They do it for various reasons. Alliance. Wealth. Power. The list could go on and on." I told her. There were many instances of it in Bevelle. That city was so corrupted that even love and marriage was twisted to suit the people's greed and lust for power. I cringed inwardly. I was almost a victim in that game, until Braska pulled me out in time as he decided to train as a Summoner, and I went along with him.

"Yeah. But what would Seymour want with Yuna? She doesn't have wealth or political power. It's fishy, and it stinks more than my brother's unwashed socks."

"Whatever Yuna's decision is, the only thing we could do is support her."

"Well, you can count me on that!" She smiled brightly, with twinkling eyes and white teeth.

Yes, nothing can faze her. The merriest one in the party. You could always count on her to cheer you up when you're feeling a bit out of it, cracking lame jokes that even I couldn't help but smile at behind my collar. Even during our extra training hours that occur before the break of dawn, she would never yap or complain, despite the difficulty of the exercises and drills I gave her. I hoped I would never see the day when she would crack. I had seen many of those, even trained many of those when I was a Warrior Monk Infantry Captain. This type of temperament was always what you would want in a cadet. Positive. Assertive. Bright. Until they saw their comrades die before their eyes, and their world turned dim and they lived a life that was only a shell of themselves. Oh no, don't delve in those memories, Auron. I took a sip from my jug to stop myself from that train of thought.

"...inside the jug?"

I was too caught up in my thoughts to have heard her. But I knew she was speaking to me. I asked her to repeat what she was asking.

"The jug. What's inside?"

"...Something not meant for children." I told her, making a light jab at her age. There was a label 'nog' plastered at the side of my jug. I indulged her wondering if there was something else inside it. But really, it's just ale. I took a sip again, feeling the liquid slide and lightly burn my throat.

"Hey! I'm about to be of age, you know." She frowned playfully. Then she looked at me with mirth. "You know, some say it's human blood."

"What?" I nearly choked at how ridiculous it was. I was already fighting not too spit out what I had drunk.

"Yeah, as if you're a vampire or something. They say it's the secret to your almighty, legendary strength."

Now, _that_ was the most ridiculous thing I had heard. Just who were spouting these fables? I was not a vampire, not even in fiend form. Yes, I said fiend form. Now that would be something you wouldn't want me to transform into.

"So, yeah, tell me what's inside, and I'll start spreading the truth."

"I think I prefer being known as a vampire."

She gave me another smile, and then she rubbed her palms together. She was plotting something. "Tell you what, I beat you at something, in a sparring match or a game, and then you'll let me take a sip on that jug of yours."

"What's in it for me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh… Well... the rumor that you're drinking breast milk will not spread!" Her grin was evil in a sort of way. I didn't know the little thief was good at blackmailing. My lips quirked a bit. The revelation was a bit surprising.

"…Alright." I conceded, after some real deep thinking. Drinking breast milk? Although I never really cared about what people said about me, _that_ was something I wouldn't want to be added as part of the legend.

"Promise?"

I weighed the cost. Another promise. But a light and humorous one. What harm could it do? "I promise." I told her.

"Oh, you better keep it. Or else I'll swipe all of your power spheres."

"I always keep my promises, Rikku." I told her, emphasizing every word. She seemed to understand and grinned at me.

Then the rest of the party came out of the Farplane entrance. I thought it was time to go to the Travel Agency and spend the night there.

Until Jyscal – yes, dead and sent Jyscal – appeared on the Farplane entrance.

 **AN: 'Bout time I move the story along. Apologies if it seems slow, but I'd like to capture the hidden scenes of the characters in the game. And we seem to be missing Tidus and Yuna, don't worry though, up next is a Tidus POV. Many thanks for reading! :)**


	17. Images of Memories

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **Chapter 17: Images of Memories**

 _ **Tidus**_

They didn't even ask her. Do you love Seymour? Do you know him? Do you even like him? Can you see the future you will have together? It was like every little thing in her life was for Spira, and she would never spare even a piece of it for herself. Just to cause joy in such a bleak place. Blue-haired Guado said their marriage would bring happiness. She was so selfless, that that Guado with a freaky hair-do probably knew how to sway her to his direction. Just mention you'd want to do something for Spira's sake with her, and she'd listen to you. Why did she have to put the whole of this sorrowful world on her shoulders? Wasn't the weight of her pilgrimage not enough?

Those were my thoughts as we entered the Farplane. It was a grand place, with a waterfall and a moon and flowers everywhere beyond the platform we were standing on. There were no white, pearly gates, but it seemed like a good place to rest eternally. I knew I'd like to go here when my time's finally up. I wondered if… no, don't think about it, Tidus.

Gazing at the two images, Yuna was standing at the north of the platform. I figured they were her parents. I could recognize the man Auron called Braska. He looked the same as the statues they had of him in the temples we visited. He wore long red robes that reached and covered both of his hands and a blue head dress. Yuna's mother stood beside Braska as well. She wore a simple blouse and a skirt, her green eyes reflecting a serene kindness. Braska and her, they looked so happy together. I began to wonder if seeing them would make Yuna want to get married.

Lulu and Wakka were together at the far right looking at and talking to an image of a light-built red-head. I concluded that it was Wakka's brother, Chappu. I didn't want to disturb them. So, wanting to keep Yuna company instead, I walked over to her to talk to her.

"So… Yuna?" I called her name to snap her out of her deep thoughts.

"I've decided." She said, turning her head to regard me.

"Oh? Really? That's good."

"I remember, when I was only seven years old, in Bevelle that day. My father had defeated Sin, and the whole town was out in the streets. Everyone was laughing. They all seemed so happy. If I defeated Sin, that would make everyone happy...wouldn't it? I must do what everyone wants, not just what I want."

I must have had a big smile on my face. It was good news. "Let's go back! You gotta tell Seymour."

"Before that... Call Sir Jecht. Give it a try. Don't worry. He won't come."

I didn't want to indulge her simple wish. But hearing his name made me think of him. Of course, my old man wouldn't appear. He was still… I wouldn't know how to describe him. Half-alive? Out there killing people and causing grief and sorrow for the whole of Spira? What would I say to the rest of Spira if they knew Sin was my old man? Hang on, why was I asking that to myself anyway? Why should I defend that drunken bastard?

"I'd rather never see him again." I said to Yuna. She would never understand why though. I bet Braska was a good father to her.

"Why do you hate him so?" She asked sincerely. I could sense her hesitation. The way I saw my old man was always a sensitive subject for me. Even Auron never tried to broach the subject, despite the years we had known each other.

So, where do I start answering that question, Yuna? Should I start with how he continually insulted me when I began practicing Blitzball? Should I start with his excessive drinking? Or should I start with how he never stopped flirting with women even though he was married? What about the awful things kids at the Zanarkand Blitzball Little League said to me because of him? Or maybe I should tell you about how I'm sick and tired of trying to escape his shadow, how I'm so frustrated that even in this world of Spira there was still a trace of him? Most of all, should I start with how my mother slowly fell apart and died because of his sudden disappearance?

"It was his fault that my mother and I had to suff-," I started, and then suddenly pyreflies began to appear and converge before me. Within seconds, an image of my mother was staring back at me.

"Mom?" I whispered in the air, and I could swear the image nodded at me. She was there smiling in front of me. Beautiful and peaceful. Her face shining brilliantly, so unlike the years after my old man disappeared. I thought I had forgotten how she had looked before that. But here she was. I had to blink back the tears that were threatening to flow from my eyes.

"She's very pretty." I heard Yuna say. I nodded. Yes, with her blue eyes, blonde hair, heart-shaped face, and light built, my mother was quite a sight. Back then, I would always wonder why she had chosen my old man as her husband. She could have had anyone in Zanarkand at her feet because of her beauty. Regarding her at that moment, I had something odd cross on my mind.

"Wait… No one ever made a sending for her. How did…?" I struggled with my confusion.

"Perhaps she accepted death while she was still alive."

"Hey, that's my mother you're talking about." I said firmly to Yuna. But I guess she had a point. Still, hearing it and remembering her difficult last years wasn't what I wanted to be bombarded with.

"Sorry." Yuna said immediately, her chagrin evident.

"No, don't be. It's ok. I'm sorry." I softly said to her, regretting my previous outburst. I placed a hand on her shoulder to ease her regret. Then it was suddenly quiet in the Farplane platform. I looked to the left and noticed Wakka and Lulu looking at us.

"Uhh, need more time?" Wakka asked Yuna.

"No, I'm ready." Yuna told him.

We walked back to the Farplane entrance. Auron and Rikku quickly welcomed us back, a bizarre atmosphere of camaraderie swirling between them. Maybe they bonded while we were away? I always knew cheerful Rikku would get through that old grouch, if not today, then eventually, perhaps. The Farplane entrance began to get flocked with people-Guados who wanted to see their dead loved ones like we had done.

Yuna was in high spirits. "Thanks for waiting! I'll go give my answer to Maester Seymour."

Our party started to leave the Farplane entrance. Suddenly, one of the Guados screamed in horror.

"Lord Jyscal!"

We stopped and looked back at the Farplane entrance. Sure enough, there was an old Guado reaching out with his hand and trying to cross the invisible Farplane barrier. Auron immediately called for Yuna.

"He does not belong here. Yuna, send him!"

Yuna, recovering from the shock, did her short dance of sending. Jyscal dissolved into pyreflies. The whole thing seemed like a rare phenomenon, and everyone was kind of stuck in a daze. It was Auron's voice who led us out of our silent reveries.

"Talk later. We leave now."

So, we walked, wanting to be away from the place where today's supernatural event took place.

We stopped on the benches quite a mile away from Seymour's manor. I could tell everyone was still shaken. I guess it wasn't everyday that a dead, old Guado tries to walk out of the Farplane.

"I still don't understand how a man like Lord Jyscal could die and not be sent." Yuna asked.

"I would think he was sent once...but he stayed on Spira. Something, a powerful emotion could have bound him to this world. Such things happen." Lulu answered.

Auron looked sideways, trying to be certain no eavesdropper would hear him. "It means he died an unclean death."

The whole party was silent again. Trust Auron to make a conspiracy out of the death of that old Guado guy. But hey, he knew his way around this world, and I didn't. Maybe Auron was right.

"I will go… meet with Maester Seymour." Yuna said to us. Something about her voice probably warned Auron about what she was going to do.

"Yuna, Jyscal is the Guado's problem, not yours." He cautioned her. Yuna only nodded, and then she started walking towards Seymour's manor.

Something in my gut told me she would not listen. I guessed Auron sensed the same thing, because he would never have said something we all knew inherently as a Guardian.

"Everyone keep a close eye on her."

We waited for her to come back from the manor. Shelinda, a young Yevon acolyte we met by the Mi'ihen Highroad passed by us. She recognized us as Yuna's Guardians and asked what we were doing. We told her we were waiting for Yuna who went to look for Seymour at his manor.

"Oh, Maester Seymour left Guadosalam a short while ago." Shelinda said. "I believe he went to the temple in Macalania. Maester Seymour is also the high priest of that temple."

Shelinda bid her farewell then. Auron had an inexplicable expresion on his face… well, the part that wasn't covered by his collar. Wakka was wondering why Seymour went away so quickly. Rikku followed Yuna to Seymour's manor to get her.

"We rest for the night at the Travel Agency. Then we leave for Macalania tomorrow." Auron said, when Yuna, accompanied by Rikku, finally rejoined the party.

Then the Summoner and the Warrior Monk looked at each other eerily. As if they were expecting or daring each other to reveal some dark secret. It was really weird. The rest of the group didn't seem to mind though. Perhaps they were already looking forward for a good sleep on a warm bed. After sleeping on the ground for days in Moonflow, it was a welcoming reprieve.

As soon as we got to the Guadosalam Travel Agency though, Yuna announced that she wasn't hungry and would like to skip dinner and rest in her room.

Auron was right then, something was up.

 **AN: I don't know much about how Jecht was like as a father to Tidus, but I think he must have been a bit crappy for young Tidus to hate him so much. I hope my description of Tidus' thoughts regarding his old man wasn't that too extreme in hatred. Well, up next is Thunder Plains, and for Aurrikku fans, you know what that means. :)**


	18. When the Merriest Cracks

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **AN: Well, here's Thunder Plains with my own spin. I kind of let my imagination run free here. Let me know your thoughts on this. Enjoy reading! :) Oh, and I have to officially announce that I will only be updating once a week now (maybe on Fridays/Saturdays); this will give me ample time to write while juggling it with real life. Thank you my faithful readers! :)**

 **Chapter 18: When the Merriest Cracks**

 _ **Rikku**_

Everyone was in a somber mood. I thought of cheering them up with some lame jokes and corny punch lines, but I guess that idea would have been horrible. The whole thing about the old, dead Guado trying to walk out of the Farplane must have gotten the whole party thinking of death. Especially when Auron mentioned that that Jyscal guy must have died an unclean death. What joke could snap that morbid idea out of everyone's head? Nothing.

And then there was Yuna acting a little bit strange, stranger than when Seymour asked her to marry him. Auron was worried. He wouldn't order everyone to keep a close eye on her if he deemed that we didn't have to. But what was Big Red Legend so worried about? Was it about Yunie not being able to complete her stupid death march? Was he that in a rush for Yunie to sacrifice her life? Sometimes, my opinion of him depended on what angle I saw him.

When we fought fiends in Moonflow, I could trust him to have my back. He'd leap in front of a fiend attack immediately, especially if it's for Yunie. When we trained during those hours before the break of dawn, I could trust him to be honest with my performance. He'd never sugarcoat his words, but he'd never wrap me with flattery either. He'd just seriously want me to improve and reach my potential as a fighter and a thief. But when it comes to Yuna's pilgrimage, he'd shut himself off, as tight as a giant oyster. One could say he was hiding hordes of secrets inside him. Secrets about the pilgrimage that he really bottled up inside of himself that made him as bent as an old, rusty spoon. Well, it's up to good ol' Rikku to get him to open up and see what he was hiding, right? After all, Rikku can unbend old, rusty spoons.

But that all depended on me not getting on his nerves first and him not wanting to chop me to little pieces.

xxxxx

They used to say that when an earthquake massively hits the ground, a devastating tsunami will follow. Which one would cause more destruction, only the aftermath of both events could tell. Death tolls could be used to measure it. The amount of damage the buildings and infrastructures received could be used to measure it as well.

A fight between two hard-headed and passionately determined friends (at least on my side, I considered _him_ a friend) was much like those two forces of nature. The earthquake would leave a huge chasm in between, and when one finally had resolved to bridge that gap, a tsunami would sweep away that intention for a truce. And all that would be left would be a broken, sordid relationship punctuated by unspoken contempt for each other. And where were Big Grouch and I? We were still in the earthquake.

Well, maybe let's move backwards a bit, so I could tell you how it all started, right? It wasn't as if all of it was my fault, you know. Hell, it was the fault of the Thunder Plains' horrible all-day-lightning weather, and it was the fault of that Big Brawny _Sayhea_ 's grumpier-than-normal mood. I swore, he acted like he was having a menopause mood change a lot worse than what my Aunt Edna went through. And that's saying a lot.

So, yeah, we were at the Guadosalam exit when it dawned on me what was going to happen next. We were about to cross the Thunder Plains, and from the name itself, it's just plains where lightning strikes every second of everyday. And didn't I tell you, already? I hated, loathed, and despised lightning to a debilitating and incapacitating degree! I barely even caught what Lulu and Wakka was explaining to Tidus when he asked how we will go about crossing the darn plains. Then everyone was moving already. But I stood there unwilling to move.

"Uhh… I think I forgot something in Guadosalam." I said nervously, wishing for another miracle path to

Macalania Woods to appear. Anything other than the Thunder Plains, please.

Unlike those many times where he walked in front, The Everlasting Grouch was walking alongside me at the rear end of the group. He gave me a sneer, "Nice knowing you." Then he walked away and followed the others.

Ok, I didn't actually see him sneer, but I knew he was sneering behind his collar. The tone of his deep voice said it all. So, I mustered all my Rikku-strength within me and started to walk. Breathe, Rikku, breathe. Do what your Pops always said: _Lmespehk y suihdyeh ymfyoc pakehc fedr y vencd cdab._ Yes, one step at a time.

"Okay! Okay! I'll go!" I voiced out to no one. They were already way ahead of me. I ran to catch up with them, pausing and flinching in fear as the lightning struck one of the towers and the thunder rumbled loudly.

That was how I spent the first day of our travel across the Thunder Plains. I didn't know why or how, but when we were being attacked by fiends, Big Brawny _Sayhea_ just seemed content to let me stand down at the far corner, evading only when attacked but hardly contributing at all. If he secretly got ticked off more because of it, well, I was too scared of the lightning striking me to care. Finally, after some unanimous decision, everyone thought it was time to perch our tents and make camp. They found a spot not too far off from a tower.

After we had a quick dinner consisting of canned goods that we bought from Guadosalam, it was time for bed. My mind began to wonder if the tent was enough protection from getting struck by a lightning. _Cred_! Of course not, Rikku! What the heck were you thinking? The lightning will scorch the tent, set it afire, and burn you as you sleep, if it didn't fry you first. I tossed and turned throughout the night. Yunie and Lulu didn't seem mindful of what I was going through; if they were, maybe they just didn't know how to help me. I sat up from the makeshift bed and covered my ears. The flashes of lightning still illuminated the tent every second. Then, the thunder still belted out and rang inside my head.

Please, for the love of all Fayth, make them all go away!

xxxxx

"JUST WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" He shook me very hard as he squeezed both my shoulders firmly. I thought he was already close to slapping me, but he didn't. Big Angry Grouch was not beyond slapping an Al Bhed teenager. But even if he did slap me, I thought my mind was so lost in my head that I would've barely registered if he slapped me. Just as I could not remember what exactly happened that made Big Angry Grouch as irate as a Nidhogg whose tail was stepped on.

It was the next day. How we got to where we were was a blur to me. I knew I was walking with them, willing my mind to focus on shutting off the thunder and the lightning. Then suddenly, there was a Behemoth in front of all of us. It was posing to strike at me. My mind was teetering on the edge then, seeming to want to rest inside a black hole. But I could still see the behemoth's movement, so I prepared to evade. Then, a familiar flash of light and a rumble, and I was back to that blackness that was then present and swirling inside my head. The next thing I knew, the Behemoth was gone. And I was on the ground being shaken like crazy by Big Angry Grouch. I smelled blood and noticed his left arm was bleeding badly.

"You're bleeding…" I said stupidly, stating the obvious. That seemed to have triggered The Grouch's anger even more, like adding more fuel to the fire.

"Of course, I am! That's what one gets when a behemoth almost cuts you in half! GET YOUR DAMN SELF TOGETHER!" He released his firm grip on my shoulders, stood, and stepped back in a huff. Everyone was dead silent. It wasn't everyday that Auron shouts at the top of his voice. Yunie came to him and immediately healed his badly bleeding left arm. Wakka, Lulu, and Tidus gathered around them seeming to convene.

I felt so worthless, I didn't bother getting up. My head was still wrapping on the fact that I could not remember what had happened.

"Too much fear on mind makes forget." Kimahri said in his trademark broken Spiran. He moved beside me. I was still slumped on the ground, but he extended his hand to help me up. I took it, still flinching as the lightning flashed and the thunder roared. "Behemoth was striking. Rikku unaware and forgot. Auron came in time to save her."

"I-I'm sorry…" I said to Kimahri weakly, as tears started to form in my eyes. So that's what happened. That was why he was so angry. I became too scared to be able to evade or move at all. That was the one thing he was counting on me for in this plains (he never pushed me to contribute or asked me to do extra training anymore), and I failed him. But he didn't have to be such a bloody prick about it, shouting at me as if I had become senile and deaf just to knock some sense into me. By this time, Kimahri seemed to notice my tears because he moved in front of me, blocking me from the others' view. I rubbed my forearm to my eyes, desperately trying to brush away my tears before they became uncontrollable.

"No apologies. Auron troubled, not understand fear. Does Rikku need carrying? "Kimahri asked me so kindly that a fresh set of tears flowed from my eyes. I couldn't form the words as I silently sobbed. He was still blocking the other's view of me. What a good pal. I'll never forget how nice he was at this moment. I breathed in and out. One step at a time. Just like Pops said.

"I'm not the one you should be guarding, Kimahri. I'll be fine, no worries." I said to him, the steadiness in my voice coming back.

"Yuna has other four guardians. Rikku need one at moment. Kimahri not want Rikku hurt." Oh, you big, furry, blue Ronso. I would have hugged you for your gentle concern. This was more words I heard from him compared to all the lame Ronso jokes I cracked with him combined.

"Well… maybe if you could walk alongside me, it'll help?" I asked him, not wanting to refuse his generosity. He nodded approvingly.

Kimahri and I started walking back to the others. I felt a weight in my tummy. Shame lodging itself inside like a brick of lead. I guessed being shouted at by Auron in front of the group does that to you. I wondered what they were all thinking. Maybe they were already thinking of just leaving me behind. Hell, if I were them, I would have left my sorry ass behind in these stupid plains as well. Stupid lightning. Stupid thunder. Stupid Legendary Guardian. I didn't ask for him to... I glanced at Tidus who happened to look my way. He gave me a smile and a wink. He was planning something.

"Hey, uhh, I scouted ahead and there seems to be a Travel Agency." Tidus started to say to Grumpier-than-Your-Granny-Who-Couldn't-Find-Her-Knitting-Kit-and-Started-Blaming-the-Neighborhood-Kids. "Maybe we should rest there, yeah?"

"This storm never stops. Better to cross quickly." _He_ replied sullenly, and then started to walk more swiftly. He was taking the front now, with Tidus scouting ahead from time to time. Yuna was tailing close behind _him_.

No can do, Tidus. But thanks for trying. I looked at him and beamed slightly, appreciating his effort.

"Yeah, but, uhh…" Tidus looked at Wakka who was glancing at Lulu who was shaking her head. Then all of them were looking at Yunie. Yeah, if there was anyone who could make the Legendary Guardian change his mind, it was Yunie, _the_ Summoner. This was her pilgrimage after all.

"Hey, uhh, Yuna, weren't you telling me a while ago how tired you were because you didn't get much sleep last night?" You have to give it to my cheery, fellow-blonde buddy. He would never give up.

"What…?" Yuna glanced back confusedly at Tidus who nodded at my direction. After a few seconds, she seemed to get the drift and smiled.

"Oh, yes. Sir Auron... I'd like a rest." Yunie declared gently and firmly at the same time. How one could do such a contradicting action, only Yunie knows.

He-who-had-a-stick-up-on-his-butt stopped walking and turned to face us, stabbing his broad katana on the ground forcefully. Perhaps his good eye was surveying everyone's faces. I wouldn't know. I was hiding behind Kimahri who had crossed his arms. Tidus had his laid back posture – arms and hands folded behind his head. Wakka was spinning his blitzball on his hand. Lulu was staring back at _him_. Yunie probably had a gentle, pleading face. And I? I felt touched by these guys. They were sticking up for me, even if it meant disturbing the group dynamics for a bit. I made myself promise to pay them back once we're out of these horrible plains.

Yeah, no more crying, sobbing, deadweight Rikku. Never again.

"Fine, we rest." Big Grumpy acceded. Perhaps he knew better than to push it when the rest of the party was against him. That didn't mean he was happy about it though. He knew why everyone was acting defiantly. "She's worse than the storm." He said out loud before turning his back and walking ahead. To the direction of the Travel Agency.

Tidus glanced at me and gave me a thumbs-up sign. I smiled back at him, mouthing a thank you and feeling glad at finally having a temporary relief from the endless lightning and thunder.

 **AN: Oh, boy. Someone hug grumpy Auron. He needs it badly. I'll let you know on the next chapter why he's such a meanie. And Kimahri is such a nice guy, he deserves a hug too! And Tidus and the gang deserve hugs too for sticking up for Rikku. You know what, everyone deserves hugs! Let's all hug! :)**

 **And, oh, some of Rikku's Al Bhed words mean:**

" **Sayhea" = Meanie, "Cred" = Shit, "Lmespehk y suihdyeh ymfyoc pakehc fedr y vencd cdab" = Climbing a mountain always begins with a first step**

 **If you are wondering how I got the Al Bhed words, there are online Al Bhed translators made by some generous programmers. Just search for them. Peace!**


	19. Jolts of Courage

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **Chapter 19: Jolts of Courage**

 _ **Auron**_

It was a classic phobia.

They were out swimming in the beach. They encountered a water fiend. Her brother wanted to show off his newly acquired black mage skills. So he cast a Thunder, but it hit her instead. She became afraid of lightning and thunder from then on. That was what she told us – well, more like to the rest of the party since she wasn't speaking to me anymore – when we stopped by the Thunder Plains Travel Agency.

Everyone had something to fear. When I was a Warrior Monk Apprentice at the tender age of eight, my Warrior Monk Master, Jamyang, asked me this very thing before he started training me. What did I fear? I looked him square in the eye and told him nothing. It was not arrogance or bravado that spurred me to say that. It came from living a life fate was never kind on. How? Let's just say that at that age, I experienced the cruelty of life more than any eight year-old out there. Abandonment, then a brief period of kindness and generosity, only to be taken away by rape, murder, and death. Sometime, perhaps I'll tell you in details. But for now let's stay in the topic of fear.

My master, Jamyang? He leveled his gaze with mine and said, "No one fears nothing, child." He chuckled lightly, amused at my naïve yet honest answer as an eight year-old. His small, narrow eyes almost seemed to close as he smiled. "Do you know what I think you fear? You fear fear itself. That cold, nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror that which paralyzes needed efforts to convert a flight into a fight. You felt it before, and you fear returning to that situation. That is a good fear, Auron. It will keep you alive, only if you knew what makes you afraid in every situation."

And Jamyang was right. About me at least.

Over the years, as I grew older, I learned to be fearless, identifying what my heart was so scared of and crushing it fast with facts and rationality. Be deployed in Vostok, a village in the eastern Spiran seas that was caught up in a fast-growing fiend swarm? I was only thirteen, but I quelled the fear and first-time nervousness that rose in me at that time, drawing my needed courage from the knowledge that I had been trained to fight ever since I was eight. Jamyang didn't expect me to return; it was the final gruesome test of gaining the title of a full-fledged Warrior Monk – a field assignment designed to determine if one can defy death. Who knew that the youngest in the ranks would make it out alive and save the lives of three other older apprentices? But I did, and the Warrior Monk Guild rewarded me with the Cross of Valor, the only apprentice to ever receive one. This was where the tales of the legend started.

So, throughout my Warrior Monk career in Bevelle, this was what I did. As I rose above the ranks, from the Warrior Monk Infantry to the Bevelle Black Corps then to the Red Guards, and in every mission given to me, I was conquering fear after fear, afraid of being arrested someday by its horrific and immobilizing grip and desperately wanting to escape that little, helpless, crying boy who still haunted my dreams. Seeing him materializing inside me in my adult body was my greatest fear.

Perhaps that was what led me to fight Yunalesca alone after Jecht became Sin and Braska died. The whole pilgrimage felt like a failure. Yes, we brought the Calm, but I had lost my best friends and watched them die. Again, it felt like I was back in that old town, Vakarus, back in that temple where I watched Nun Agape and Priest Amias' deaths. And in an attempt to squash the image of that little, helpless boy in my mind, I acted in foolish bravery, not the calm and calculated rationality that I used to do instead, and attacked the snake-face woman who created the lie that sent Spira into a cycle of death. But she was stronger than me, and I failed even more yet again.

It was something Jamyang didn't teach me. Fear can also make you do thoughtless and vacuous things.

How can I tell her all this? I had been cast by the group as the antagonist the moment I lost my temper the time we battled the behemoth. Maybe I was too harsh. But when I was a Warrior Monk Infantry Captain, what we did with freshly graduated cadets who let fear take root inside their heads was just leave them behind. It just meant that they were not suited to be soldiers. Whatever their performance was on their training, the first field assignment will determine everything. Those who space out in a battle were no good. They will just be another burden on your shoulders, and you will end up getting killed when you try to save their dazed asses. Better for the troops to get rid of them. This was how Bevelle treated soldiers. Only the bravest and the fittest were to survive.

But she was no soldier, and I should not have treated her like one. She was a Guardian, and she volunteered for this. Blame my foul mood then. Ever since that day when Yuna did the sending for Jyscal, I had been bombarded with the feelings the unsent have to battle as they stay here in Spira. Hatred for the living. Envy for their life. Lust for their blood. Rage to kill. You would think that after ten years of being unsent, one would be able to ignore these feelings already. No, they only intensified, whispering sinful things in my inner ears, tempting me to change to my fiend form and massacre the whole of Guadosalam and, possibly, my own Summoner's party.

When I closed my eyes, I would see images of Yuna and Tidus' blood in my hands, Kimahri's head parted from his neck, Lulu and Wakka's bodies torn in half, and hear Rikku's screams resounding like a lamb being slaughtered. I had to remind myself why I was there with them every second. Promises. I kept promises for my two best friends that I had not fulfilled yet. And I'll be damned if I did not fulfill them. I could not tell them why I was always on edge. I could not confide in them what I was. All I could hope for was for the voices in my head to stop. So then I could ease the anger and rage to murder boiling inside of me.

Her fear of lightning can be overcome, if only she would listen to reason and act accordingly. But she would not; she'd rather let hear fear swallow her mind inside her head.

So it was up to me to move her and pull her out of that blackness, even if I would be dubbed as the villain.

xxxxx

She sat there on the floor of the sitting room, leaning on the wall and hugging her knees. Every time the lightning flashes reflected on the window and the thunder reverberated, she would start and flinch. I had a feeling that she had not slept the night before at all, rendering the Travel Agency the group fought so hard for my approval to go to as useless. It was morning now, despite the grayish sky outside. It really was time to go; everyone was packed and ready in the sitting room, but I knew they were still waiting for Rikku to move or stand up. No one was going to knock some sense into her, so I decided to take up the reins of the group again.

"We have to go now. Remember that you are on a pilgrimage, not some pleasure cruise." I said bluntly to Yuna who was standing at the far corner of the sitting room, looking a bit interested at a lamp shade. Her peculiar behavior last night was also something to be worried about, but it would be better to solve things one at a time first. She seemed to understand what I said but she glanced at Rikku. There was no doubt that she didn't want to have to leave her cousin. But if it would come down to it, I was still going to push her to it.

"Let me talk to her first." The Summoner said and motioned to where the Al Bhed girl was sitting. I followed her, wanting to have the party leave the Travel Agency as soon as possible.

"Rikku… we have to go." She said gently, placing a hand on the little thief's shaking shoulder.

"It's not stopping, is it?" Rikku looked up, holding her blanket tighter to her body.

"The storm here never stops. Don't tell me you're hoping it would." I said to her with a trace of disdain in my voice. I looked at the other Guardians' faces; they still have that air of defiance within them. Fascinating, if I was there promoting team spirit. But we were there to complete the pilgrimage. I gave in to their request of rest yesterday. I will not be giving in anymore. I raised my broad katana to my shoulder. "You should all remember your oaths. In this pilgrimage, you are Guardians first before friends."

That got most of them on their toes. But I never gave them the chance to speak for themselves.

"We are leaving. Those of you who still have even an ounce of desire to honor their vow as a Guardian come with us. If you want to rot as you mollycoddle this little coward here, fine. Stay here. We don't need you." I said blatantly. Then I grabbed Yuna's bag, took hold of her arm, and half-dragged the poor Summoner outside despite her silent struggle. We were already walking a few meters ahead when I heard the door of the Travel Agency swing open again. One by one, they came out. Kimahri first, then Wakka and Lulu. I stopped, waiting for Tidus to come out. I almost imagined him coming out carrying the little thief on his back. But no, he came out alone, head hung low.

Yuna knew what it meant, and she covered her mouth with her hand, hiding her sadness. I let go of her arm that I was still gripping and started to walk in the direction of Macalania Woods. In just a few more miles, we'd be out of the Thunder Plains. I wondered if the Al Bhed girl knew it. She quit the race when she was almost near the end. I willed myself not to shake my head in dismay as we continued walking.

We had walk for almost ten minutes when suddenly out of nowhere I heard a person shouting. We all stopped our steps and turned to the direction of the Travel Agency. And there she was, running to where we were at top speed, just as how she used to run during our break of dawn trainings. I managed to smile. So there was still a piece of her that got out of the blackness of fear in her mind. But my little happiness was short-lived though when she headed towards me, caught me off guard, tackled me, pinned me to the ground, and punched my face continuously. How was she able to do all that? If you know the basics of physics, half of the equation for force was acceleration. And her speed always made up for her lack of mass.

"YOU EVIL SON OF A MARLBORO!" She punched my good eye. "I'M NOT A COWARD!" She punched my right, scarred eye. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CALL ME A COWARD!" She grabbed my head and gave my nose a powerful head butt, breaking the tender bone. Blood immediately gushed out of my nostrils. It was right then that the other Guardians had the sense to stop her and managed to pull her off of me. I could swear they enjoyed my getting assaulted by an Al Bhed teenager. Maybe I did deserve it. She was still shouting though as she struggled against Kimahri's hold, still wanting to attack me.

"I maybe scared of the lightning, but I'm not scared of you, you—you big Ochu asshole! Who are you anyway? You may be the only Legendary Guardian here today, and yeah, you may be so big and so strong and so famous that you can order people to jump right off a cliff and they would do it eyes closed—but you are still just another person, you know! DID YOU HEAR THAT!? JUST. ANOTHER. PERSON! AND YOU have no right to ridicule other people's fears when you've never felt them yourself or even have a damn clue on what they are!"

She was right. I did not know how her fear of lightning affected her mind, just as I didn't know how those fresh soldiers took in their fear of death. But unlike those soldiers who just gave up, she fought her fear with her every step, until it became a losing battle for her. Maybe I should have used another method to help her. Goading her worked, but it inevitably led her to hating me. I didn't want her to hate me; I wanted her and me to be able to work together.

I looked around for my sunglasses that were probably knocked off of me when she tackled me. Yuna made a motion to heal my bleeding, broken nose and bruised eyes, but I stopped her with my hand. Yes, Auron can take a few beatings from an Al Bhed teenager, you know. I found my sunglasses on my far right, picked it up, and wore it. I unstrapped my collar and wiped away the blood gushing from my nose with my sleeves. I was stalling, but eventually I braced myself for what I was going to say. I had no plans on sharing it with the rest of them; hell, I had never shared it with anybody except to Jamyang and Braska, but this may be the right time to tell her. I looked at her green eyes seriously and started to speak.

"There was an abandoned, orphaned boy who was adopted by a Yevonite priest and nun. They were kind and good people, the priest and the nun, uncorrupted by greed or lust for power unlike the other Yevon servants like them. They became the boy's foster parents, until one day, in the height of Spira's racial wars, part of an anti-Yevonite gang broke inside their home. There were only two of them, but they subdued the family quickly with their weapons. They wanted money and stole whatever valuables they found. But these anti-Yevonites still wanted more. They raped the nun, beat the priest to death, and made the boy watch as his foster parents were murdered. In a fit of blind rage and due to those anti-Yevonites' stupidity, the boy managed to kill those anti-Yevonites. Could the boy have done something to change what happened if he had acted quicker? If he didn't give in to his fear from the start, could the boy have saved his foster family? The adult that boy became still asks that question unto this day.

"Don't let fear overcome you and impair you, Rikku. When it incapacitates you, your inaction causes regrets among a thousand more consequences."

I saw the rage in her gradually dissipate as I said my story. I didn't dare look at the other Guardians' faces. They could do their own interpretation. What I cared about was getting through the head of the little thief. She was crying now, or perhaps she was already crying even before her terrifying outburst and I just didn't notice. I felt remorse on causing her pain with my offensive temper and behavior the previous days, but I didn't want to voice out an apology. Words seemed useless at times like this. Instead, I went to her, freed my left arm that was tucked inside my gi, and spread it wide, beckoning her for an embrace. Sniffling and sniveling, she went to me and hugged my middle. We stayed that way for a few moments, the unspoken apologies flowing out as our arms wrapped around each other.

I looked at the other Guardians. Now that I had showed empathy, I felt the kinship and affinity finally return. Kimahri stood strongly than ever. Tidus gave me a sheepish smile. Yuna, Lulu, and Wakka looked back at us with solicitude.

"There are only a few miles of Thunder Plains that we have to cross to get to Macalania Woods." I said to her who was embracing me. "Hold on."

She broke our embrace and nodded approvingly. Then she looked down and rubbed her eyes, probably still ashamed that she cried in front of us. So, when she looked up at me and gave me a small smile, I couldn't help but feel a little lighter. I knew the Rikku we knew was slowly returning, and she'll be back to her old antics once we reached Macalania.

I smiled back at her before I started to fix my collar. Then for some reason, the demons in my head quieted down. Though they were still whispering like a static on a radio, it was something I can ignore now. Praying they leave me for good, I lead the party at the front, wanting to leave the Thunder Plains and the memory of my past transgression behind.

 **AN: I figured Auron had a difficult past that made him a stiff Yevonite zealot when Jecht and Braska met him. This version of his history was just my own spin. Hope it did justice.**

 **I love naming characters with a meaning! Jamyang is an actual Tibetan Monk name meaning 'gentle voice' which I think fits a Warrior Monk Master. His quote about fearing fear itself was taken from good ol' president Franklin Roosevelt.**

 **Amias and Agape mean 'loves God' and 'love' which I think were fitting names for a priest and nun. I'll go into detail about Auron's foster family life in the future, especially on how young Auron survived the tragedy. Vakarus, their hometown, is Lithuanian for 'west'.**

 **For the meaning of some Spiran curse words shouted by Rikku:**

" **Son of a Marlboro" = a Marlboro is a repeating monster in FF. It looks like a huge venus flytrap, and its face only consists of a huge mouth with sharp teeth; it also has an ability called 'bad breath'. So, in this context, someone who is a son of a Marlboro maybe described as a person who does nothing but insult you and bad mouth you.**

" **Ochu asshole" = an Ochu is also a repeating monster in FF. It looks like an overgrown onion bulb with a green Hawaiian skirt. It has an ability called Ochu Dance, wherein it looks like it is releasing gas or farting (sorry that's how I remember it). Anyway, an Ochu asshole is someone who keeps on giving you shit constantly.**

 **See, Auron had a good reason for his bad temper last chapter. But did you enjoy Rikku beating up Auron? I knew I did when I wrote it. Let me know your thoughts. Up next is a Yuna's POV and a Tidus POV after that. Thanks for reading this far (this AN is long, sorry). Have a nice day, everyone! :)**


	20. The Unlikely Answer

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **Chapter 20: The Unlikely Answer**

 _ **Yuna**_

I did not know what to do. Sir Auron told me that the sighting of Lord Jyscal at the Farplane gate was the Guado's problem, but even then, I couldn't take it off of my mind. Unbeknown to everyone, Lord Jyscal left a sphere that recorded his last message to this world. I picked it up and listened to it back in Guadosalam, and I knew there was something I had to do somehow.

By the time we arrived in the Thunder Plains Travel Agency, I wanted to look at it again, and maybe understand past the words of what the old Maester was trying to say. So I booked a separate room from the others at the agency's reception. I knew it made the rest of my party feel like I was troubled with something and wanted to be alone, but I knew I had to. If they asked how I was, I would fake illness or probably just say I was tired and wanted some peace and quiet.

I took the sphere from my bag and switched it on again. Then, I placed it on the side table and sat near it by the bed. In a few seconds, Lord Jyscal's image reflected out and his soft, tenor voice rang around the room.

"What I am about to tell you is the unclouded truth. I swear it on my honor as a Guado. Listen to me very carefully, for I shall tell you the truth about my son, Seymour – " Lord Jyscal began his opening words, but then I heard a loud thump on the carpet floor telling me that someone might be in the room. I must have forgotten to lock the door. I scrambled to switch off the sphere as quickly as possible. When I looked towards the door, there was Tidus slumped on the floor, all red and flushed with embarrassment.

"I… uhh… our room… uhh, ceiling… uhh, yeah... the ceiling was leaking because of the storm and uhh… I was wondering if yours was too… so, I, uhh… the door was open, so I came in, and… I'm sorry... I wasn't totally snooping on you. Nope. Not snooping…" Tidus stammered, and I tried to get the sphere out of his line of sight as inconspicuously as possible, but his eyes immediately trained on it. "But hey! Isn't that the Jyscal guy who came out of the Farplane?" He suddenly asked, embarrassment gone and replaced by curiosity.

"Yes. He dropped it when he was trying to cross the Farplane gate. It contains his will. It says 'take care of my son'". I said, trying to be discreet while not purposely lying.

Tidus looked at me then, as if sensing that something was wrong with my words. "Yuna… is something bothering you?" He stood up from the carpet floor and sat on the bed a few feet away from me.

"N-Nothing. Why would you think so?" I looked back at him, hiding the worry brought by Jyscal's sphere from my face.

"It's just that… you have been quite silent for a long time now. I mean, I know things are tough with the others with Auron being such a bad-tempered asshole bullying Rikku, but I guess what I'm trying to say is you can tell us anything."

"I'm really fine, Tidus. I'm sorry if I was causing you worry." I gave him a smile that I hoped would assure him of my carefree demeanor.

Tidus stared at me for a few seconds, perhaps confused at whether to believe my words or not. But he stood from the bed and gave me a small smile, probably not wanting to pry any further. "Alright, I'll take your word for it. I'll be… going now."

I nodded. Then as he left the room and closed the door, I decided to lock it. What happened earlier was something I didn't want to be repeated. I knew Tidus meant well, sneaking up on my room to see if I was ok, but I figured he wouldn't understand my situation even if I told him. I turned back to the sphere and switch it on, forwarding it to the last sentences Lord Jyscal said about his son.

"Please, to whoever who is listening, stop my son. Stop Seymour before he destroys himself. And most of all, stop him before he destroys all of Spira."

Ever since I heard this plea, Lord Jyscal's voice and words rang in my ears constantly. Here was a desperate supplication one would never thought to hear from a man who held such stature and position of power before. It made the message more foreboding, prompting one to act as soon as possible. But act in what manner? Lord Jyscal admitted that his own son, Seymour, had killed him. And it was not due to a fleeting anger that was often caused by a heated altercation. No, his own son poisoned him – it was pre-meditated murder at its best.

Why, one might ask? Lord Jyscal knew and did not hesitate to confess in the sphere. He had made a grave mistake that he regretted ever since: listening to the Guados who discriminated his half-breed son and human wife – all because he feared that his own people would overthrow him. That was what precipitated the old maester to have Seymour and his mother be exiled in Baaj. What happened to Seymour and his mother in Baaj, no one knows. But one thing for sure was that I felt a stirring in my chest. It was a mixture of dread, pity, and compassion. No one was meant to suffer that way.

Seymour. The Guado with bizarre, azure hair, confident smile, and electric blue eyes. I remembered his power and strength when he defended me against the Sinspawns in Mushroom Rock. The fiends didn't stand a chance. Seymour. He asked me so kindly to take him as my pillar of strength when the burden of being Spira's hope became heavy. I knew then that he understood what I was going through. When we were at his mansion, he spoke so softly when he leaned to my ear and asked me to marry him. When I was in Farplane, I seriously thought about his proposal. I could not deny that a part of me was drawn to his enigmatic being. I knew then that, even if I thought about not marrying him, I wanted to know more about him.

But who knew that this happened to him? That this was his past?

I had to talk to Seymour. I had to know what he was planning. I had to understand his mind and heart. And the only way to achieve that was to give him what he wanted as a trade: say yes to his proposal of marriage. Then maybe, maybe once I got through to him, I could stop whatever it was that made Lord Jyscal so desperate in his petition.

Maybe I could save him.

But I needed to tell my Guardians first, about my plan to marry at least. I could not let them know anything other than that. This matter about Seymour's life was not mine to tell. I switched off the sphere and placed it back inside my bag. Then I laid down on the bed, desperately wanting to fall asleep despite the anxiety my upcoming decision was giving me.

xxxxx

"Everyone… wait." I started to tell them. We were about to enter the Macalania Woods when it dawned on my head that it was time I tell them about what I was planning. Sir Auron's fight with Rikku had now been resolved, and everyone seemed to be in a better mood now that the tension was temporarily relieved. I had been walking ahead of my Guardians when I decided to turn towards them to halt their steps. "I have something to tell you."

"Here?" Lulu asked, quite surprised with my urgency.

"We're almost out of here. Let's go!" Rikku suggested, her eagerness to be finally out of the Thunder Plains clearly showing.

"I have to say it now." I insisted. It was too important to put it off.

"Over there." Auron said, pointing to a sheltered structure. We all walked towards it.

I breathed deeply, preparing myself for what I was about to say. They all looked at me expectantly. "I've decided to marry." I said to them. Then shock was written all over their faces.

"W-Why? What changed your mind?" Wakka asked. And I knew it was the first of the many questions they will soon throw at me.

"For Spira's future… and Yevon's unity. I thought it would be the best thing to do."

"That's not good enough." Sir Auron said in a bit of a baritone grumble. I could feel his ire growing alongside his concern. We just fixed the rough patch he had with Rikku. Now I had placed another matter that unsettled him.

"Is it… is it because of Lord Jyscal?" Lulu asked me. Yevon bless her heart. She always had an acute perception of me, ever since we were younger.

"Hey, that sphere!" Tidus then decided to participate at the right moment, which I wished he hadn't. I didn't want them to know about Lord Jyscal's secret. It seemed to me like a task that was only appointed to me and involving others would feel like betraying Lord Jyscal's soul.

But Sir Auron was on me in an instant. "Show me." His gruff voice commanded, and his left hand reached out, expecting me to hand over the sphere.

I was determined not to have my resolve broken. "I can't. I must speak to Maester Seymour first. I truly am sorry, but this is... It is a personal matter."

"You're kidding, ya?" Wakka protested, advancing to me. He was never used to my keeping secrets. I never kept secrets from him and Lulu until now. But Sir Auron held out his arm sideways, blocking Wakka.

"Let her do as she wishes." Sir Auron declared to everyone. And when he said his word, all were expected to follow. I felt relieved at having his blessing, though it was hard-earned. But I knew it wasn't over. His good eye looked at me, square to my own. "Just one thing…"

I knew what he was expecting. "I won't quit my pilgrimage." I promised him.

"Then it is… fine. Do want you want." Sir Auron nodded, then he proceeded to walk again, taking the front of the group again and heading towards the entrance of the Macalania Woods. Somehow there was a trace of defeat in his voice, as if I had disappointed him despite my telling him that I would continue my pilgrimage. Perhaps he could also feel that something was wrong with Seymour, and he didn't want me to bear the entire burden on my shoulders. But I had no choice. Seymour wanted me, and I knew it was only me who could speak sense to him and understand him.

I thought Sir Auron had said the final word, but Tidus ran to him with confusion apparent on his face.

"Wait a minute, Auron!" Tidus caught up with him. "That's it? You don't care? She's marrying some –

some sort of suspicious guy she barely even knows, for heaven's sake! Aren't you going to stop her?"

"It is not my business to interfere. As long as she continues her pilgrimage, she is privileged."

It was true, that custom. So long as the Summoner journeys in a pilgrimage, a Guardian cannot question what the Summoner would want to do along the way. It was the only consolation given to them who would sacrifice their lives in the end. But upon hearing Sir Auron's seemingly callous answer, Tidus' face turned red in anger. It was clear that he did not understand that certain custom in Spira, so what he did next was not what the rest of us expected.

"Arrrgghhh! Pilgrimage, pilgrimage, pilgrimage! Is that all you care about when it comes to Yuna? What sort of friend are you to her father, letting her make an impulsive decision to marriage on her own? Hey! HEY – I'M TALKING TO YOU!" He screamed at Auron, but the older Guardian continued walking. Then, perhaps due to Tidus' frustration at not being paid attention to by Sir Auron, he shoved the Warrior Monk's shoulder forcefully.

But, unlike Rikku's assault on him, Sir Auron's reflexes were now as fast as lightning, turning around so quickly and going with the flow of Tidus' force that the blonde-head's attack was deflected and he was locked in a chokehold instantly. The Warrior Monk's grip was hard and firm as the Zanarkand blitzballer struggled to be free.

"Sir Auron!"

"Tidus!"

Everyone shouted in unison and in shock, but no one made a move to separate the two Guardians from each other.

"Lemme go! You uncaring bastard! Lemme go!" Tidus yelled as he tried to grab Sir Auron's arm and wiggle free from his grasp, but the Warrior Monk's hold went tighter. Tidus then tried to elbow Sir Auron's torso as strong as he could, but it was to no avail. Then after a few seconds, the Zanarkand blitzballer's face started to turn white, perhaps due to oxygen depletion; the older Guardian only stayed his hold and leaned to whisper in Tidus' left ear. That seemed to calmed Tidus down a bit. It lasted only for a moment, but it worked and he stopped grabbing and elbowing Sir Auron and dropped his arms in defeat. The older Guardian then released Tidus from the chokehold and gently pushed Tidus with a pat on his back. Tidus' head hung low, and I moved towards him quickly to see if he was alright.

"Tidus…" I called his name, and he now looked at me with eyes that had more understanding. What Sir Auron said to him must have gotten through to him.

"I…" Tidus started, but he seemed lost for words. He went back to shyly looking at the ground.

"It's alright." I tried to console him instead. I took his hand and held them between both of my own. Now that I thought about it, Tidus had become a dear friend that I wouldn't want to ever lose. He may always be crude at his manners, but I knew he always meant well. "I know you're worried. All of you are. But you have to trust me. I'll be fine."

"Ehh, I'm not a hundred percent sure... but if you say so, Yuna." Tidus said to me, desperately trying not to frown. I knew a part of him was still disappointed with my decision, but his agreeing to it was a start.

"But Yuna, you gotta tell us quickly when you need help, ya?" Wakka reminded.

"Yeah, like, if Seymour gives you trouble or something, we'll come running immediately and whisk you away!" Rikku added in that merry tone of hers. I felt relieved that she seems to be agreeing as well, being the only blood-related family I had left. But if she knew what I was planning, she would never give me the go signal.

I nodded to them to give them my approval for their friendly reminders.

"It is settled then. We will go to Macalania Temple. Yuna can discuss matters with Seymour there. The rest of us Guardians will wait until they're done, and then we'll plan our next move. All clear?" Sir Auron said, and everyone nodded to show their acknowledgement.

We then started to walk to Macalania Woods. In a few miles we will reach Macalania Temple and meet Seymour. My palms started to get sweaty and my heart beat strongly than ever, fear and unease taking root inside of me. But I knew, despite the dreadful feelings they evoke, I could no longer go back on my decision.

 **AN: I always thought Yuna was the kind of person who was so kind (almost to the point of naivety) that she had faith that everyone can be kind and nice too. I put in some bit of messiah complex in her as well (in a good way, not the crazy-delusional-I'm-a-God way), because I think she believes she can change someone just by being kind to them. And I think all Summoners have a bit of messiah complex themselves with them wanting to save Spira through their own sacrifice. Drop a review and let me know about what you think about this characterization. This may help me improve on Yuna's POV in the future.**

 **Up next is a Tidus POV, with the scene of the first Jecht sphere. Yep, lots of drama. But hey, it's good drama. Not a tear-jerker, but still good. Thanks for reading, folks! Have a happy weekend! :)**


	21. The Misguided Father

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **AN: Some of the Jecht Sphere scenes here have my own spin, so please don't be surprised if they are different from what you remember. Anyway, have fun reading!**

 _ **Tidus**_

I didn't know why I became so angry. Was it jealousy? I couldn't quite put my finger into it. I mean, sure, Yuna and I were good friends, more than I would ever expect from someone in the opposite sex, but I never really thought of Yuna and I becoming more than that until now. I meant, come on, she was the most famous Summoner out there, and I was Spira's greatest ignoramus, although a good blitzballing ignoramus, mind you. Still, if the party left me alone in this strange world, I wouldn't probably last a week. So, what chance will I ever have with her? Wait, what was I suddenly thinking of? Anyway, perhaps the reason why my anger rose was because everyone was just letting Yuna do what she wanted against their very own judgment. I knew they knew in their hearts that there was something really really fishy about that freaky-hairdo Seymour. And then they just let her be. I just couldn't understand why.

And then there was Mr. Unemotional acting as if he didn't care one bit at all. But maybe I overreacted a bit as well.

 _I care. I care more than I know how to show. Listen to me, she's my godchild. But we have to let her make a choice. Just as I let you made your own._

Those were his words as he whispered in my ear the time he unintentionally almost choked me to death. I swore, being in Auron's chokehold? Clearly not the most pleasant thing in the world. But perhaps my mouth was running a thousand miles per second, and it was his only way to make me listen then. He was right about me though. Once, he told me I was emotional, and I wore my heart on my sleeve. But he – he was a stoic, indifferent Warrior Monk. I would take being emotional over being a human made of stone cold ice any day. So it really wasn't my fault when I called him an uncaring bastard. But maybe I stretched it too far a bit.

He cared. He always cared, even though he may not be as affectionate as someone who seemed to genuinely care. No, he cared in a creepy sort of way, always watching over from afar, kind of like your friendly neighborhood stalker but in a more pleasant way. He always knew when you're hurt, he always knew when you needed encouragement, and most of all, he always knew when you needed help. And if that wasn't caring, I didn't know what else to call it. I just wished I figured that all out before I decided to shove his shoulder as hard as I could, because, darn, my neck still hurt from his chokehold.

"Hey, hothead." The man I was thinking of suddenly spoke to me, surprising me with a jolt. He was walking beside me now, and I swore, sometimes he walks like a cat and sneaks up on you like a lion. Perhaps he got that trait when he was still working on some Warrior Monk Ultra-Spy Unit or something. Sometimes I had this silly thought in my head to give him a dose of his own medicine. Maybe Rikku and I could think of a prank that would surprise him and knock him down to the core. I just hope his old bones won't give away, or his old heart won't go into a cardiac arrest and drop dead when we execute it.

"Who, me?" I mocked him back.

"Who else?" He smirked.

"Hey, you're the one who's always grumpy." I said to him, wanting to remind him of what occurred in the Thunder Plains with him and Rikku.

"Not this time." He chuckled, his deep voice rumbling with, dare I say, mirth. He seemed to be in a good mood at the moment despite the heavy air of the news of Yuna's decision to marry hanging over us like a storm cloud. I liked to think that everyone was trying to smile and be happy for Yuna. Rikku seemed to be spearheading this campaign. The moment we stepped into Macalania Woods, she began to belt out and sing some old Spiran sea shanties.

( _Oh,was you ever in Vallipo? Where the girls put on a show? Wriggle and dance with a roll and go! Way, ho, away we go! Chocobo Ridin', Chocobo Ridin'! Way, ho, away we go! Riding on a Chocobo!_ )

It didn't take long for Wakka to sing along with her, happy for Rikku overcoming the Thunder Plains. Then back and forth they traded knock-knock jokes, riddle jokes, and pun jokes.

( _Knock knock!_ Who's there? _Lettuce._ Lettuce who? _Lettuce in already! Get it, Wakka?_ Uhh, no, Rikku, say that again, ya?).

But Wakka, the thick-headed goof, always seemed lost at Rikku's jokes though. Overhearing the two, Captain Chokehold and I sometimes chuckled quietly while we were straggling at the back. Uhh, what's with the nicknames suddenly? Well, maybe I hung out with Rikku too much back in the Thunder Plains Travel Agency.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry for attacking you. But you didn't have to choke me to get me to listen, you know." I said to Auron, and he raised his palms defensively. "Alright, maybe you had to. But… uhh, you know what, never mind. Anyway, whatcha want, Boss?"

"A favor."

"Yeah?" My ears perked up. It wasn't everyday that Auron asked a favor from anyone. But when he did, it always meant something serious. "Fire away."

"Stand by Yuna. Always." Auron stopped walking to look at me intently.

"Huh? I thought we should let her make her own choice now." I replied to him, remembering the words he whispered in my ear when I was in his chokehold.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean abandoning her. You… are closer to Yuna as a friend than me. She shares her thoughts with you."

"You're hoping she'll tell me what she's up to?" Realization finally hit me when I thought of his unusual request.

"You have a better chance at it than me."

"Yeah… come to think of it, I don't see you two talk that much, even when you said she's your godchild."

"We used to be closer when she was younger, when we were in Bevelle and Braska was still alive. But now, we are… estranged in a way. After ten years of being apart." Auron said. He was masking the sadness in his face with a set expression, but the tone of his voice gave it away. I knew then that the lack of warmth in his relationship with Yuna bothered him intensely.

"I'm sure if you talk to Yuna more you can make up for it and get along more deeply."

"Estranged relationships take time to mend. Time which we do not have."

"You just don't want to improve your social skills and talk about your feelings like a normal person, you old grouch." I said to Auron, a little bit annoyed that he was as stubborn as a mule about the whole idea.

"Hey, slowpokes! Keep up!" Rikku shouted at the top of her lungs from the front of the party. They were quite a distance away now. Auron and I started to walk again to catch up with them.

"Just… do it for me, Tidus." His voice was sort of pleading now which was very rare. It was then that I understood that he thought about the matter very seriously and that he cared about Yuna, even in a weird way.

"Oh, yeah, ok. You have my word. But it would be really a lot easier if she wasn't marrying that freaky hair-do Guado. I mean, what is she thinking? This can't be that All-for-Spira crap now, can it?" I asked Auron, my frustration towards Yuna's situation showing itself.

"She means to negotiate with Seymour." He said calmly and knowingly.

"Wait, what?" I shook my head in disbelief. I knew something was fishy with Yuna's decision, but in what manner, Auron had to point me to it for me to see it.

"In exchange for marriage, she hopes to achieve something."

"Achieve what?"

"I could only wonder. But Yuna is naïve to the ways of human nature, especially to the darker side of it. There is a possibility that she may be put to a vulnerable position."

"You think Seymour may take advantage of her?" I asked, trying to read between the lines of what Auron was saying.

"I could only presume. I do not like what I feel in my gut."

"Well, that makes two of us. Don't worry. I'll stand by Yuna, just as you said." I told Auron, and he nodded in acknowledgement. He started walking ahead of me when I realized that I wanted something from him. "Hey, Auron!" I called out to him, and he stopped his walking. "Teach me that chokehold?" I asked him with a smile.

"On our next training session, I will." He replied with a smirk.

xxxxx

Macalania Woods was a sight to see if you let your eyes wander at all the things surrounding you. There was simply crystal of powder blue everywhere. The pathways were crystal, the tree branches were crystal, and there were plants with leaves that were even crystal. I didn't think that such a majestic place could be possible. I felt like I died and went to a completely different magical place, kind of like that Alice in a rabbit hole story. Was that the title? I couldn't remember.

Anyway, we were walking midway on a pathway when we encountered a bird-beaked, harp-bearing man, much like the street-performers in Luca. He was strumming his harp lazily when Rikku approached him.

"He says if we chase and capture enough blue butterflies he'd give us a neat prize." Rikku said to us, after talking to the harp-bearing man. "There is a catch though; there are red butterflies that call fiends when you touch them."

"Uhh, who would want to chase butterflies?" I looked at the party and imagined who among us would be willing to do it. Certainly not Auron, or Kimahri; I didn't think they'd do something that would affect their tough guy acts. Wakka could run, but his footfall was loud and might scare the butterflies. Lulu and Yuna could not run with what they were wearing. So it was up to me and Rikku.

"You do it." Auron announced to Rikku by the time I finished my train of thought.

"Ok. Just wait here, I'll get that prize in no time!" Rikku said and happily skipped along towards the man with a harp. The man gave her the go signal, and then Rikku was suddenly racing through the pathways capturing blue butterflies and avoiding the red ones. There was a time when her head was about to collide with a red one, but she ducked quickly and avoided it. Then in a flash, Rikku managed to capture all the butterflies the man with the harp wanted. I cheered for Rikku's victory, surprised at how skilled she had become.

"Whoa. How did you get so fast and agile all of a sudden?" I asked her as she made her way back to us. She smiled at me sheepishly and flushed red at my question.

"While you were still snoring, she was already up training with me." Auron said, almost proudly, kind of like a martial arts master who was satisfied with his most precious student's performance in a fight tournament.

"Hey, you didn't say we could get extra training from you. And I totally do not snore!" I said back at Auron, and Yuna and Lulu lightly laughed at my expense.

"Kimahri hears Tidus snore like thunder." Kimahri butted in, nodding as if what he said was the world's greatest fact. Everyone laughed at that too.

"Kimahri! That's because you have super hearing or something." I called his name, willing him not to add more to my embarrassment.

"Well, what's the prize?" Wakka inquired at Rikku, moving closer to her.

"Yeah… well, the thing is he only gave me eight electro marbles." Rikku said in dismay showing the marbles in her palms. "I mean, I argued that what I did was worth way more than that, you know."

"Yeah, well, keep them. You may never know when they might come in handy, ya?" Wakka chuckled and patted Rikku's shoulder. Rikku smiled at him and nodded. And I felt glad that these two were becoming good pals. But then, there was this thing about Wakka not knowing Rikku was an Al Bhed. I just wished he wouldn't think differently of her when he learns the truth.

xxxxx

"Wait. It is here… somewhere." Auron stopped at the curved pathway we were currently walking on and looked thoughtfully at the thick branches of Macalania trees stacked at the far right corner.

"It? What 'it'?" I asked him.

"Something you should see." He said to me. Then he took out his broad katana from its sheathe and started hacking the thick branches. In a few seconds, he had hacked away enough branches that it made sufficient space for a person to go through. We went through it one by one and were surprised to find a clearing surrounded by fresh water.

"What is this place?" I wondered, finding the place surreal. There were spheres of different sizes and colors by the small lake at the center of the clearing. Some bigger ones were scattered at the far deep end.

"This is the part of the woods where spheres form naturally." Lulu answered. "Some collect them to use as memory spheres for spherecams."

"Memory spheres, huh?" I saw Auron wandering to the left of the lake near some huge stones. I decided to check out what he wanted me to see. He was picking up a blue sphere by the time I came near him.

"I'm sure this is the one. Jecht left it here ten years ago. Here, play it back." He handed to me the blue sphere, and it glowed once it touched my palm.

"Whoa, that's really old." Wakka exclaimed. I suddenly wondered how he could tell that it was old. It looked perfectly new to me.

"Uhh, it's not playing…" I told Auron. The sphere was looking blurry to me.

Rikku moved to my side to look. "Give it a good shake!"

I took her advice and shook the thing. After a few moments, there was static and then a familiar baritone voice rang out.

"What are you doing?" There was still no image, so I shook the sphere more. Then the hologram function of the sphere suddenly picked up, and there it was, an image of a younger version of Auron who looked a lot like his usual grumpy self now, except that he had longer hair and fewer silver streaks. I found it hard not to laugh. He seemed like he was walking on a bridge. Then another familiar gruff voice resounded from the sphere.

"Are you so dumb that you couldn't figure it out?" I knew that arrogant voice. It was my old man. "Anyway, for the information of your pea-sized brain, I'm recording all the neat things I'll see on this trip. You know, to show my wife and kid back in Zanarkand. But anyway, you're not one of those neat things, Auron, so I should probably point this thing somewhere else." Then the image of the sphere shifted and focused on a man with full-length priest robes and a headdress. Yuna went wide-eyed as she saw the image. I knew it was her father, Braska. "Now this guy is the neatest person alive, not that red douchebag over there. Got me out of prison, this guy. Don't ask how I ended up there. Anyway, he's going to defeat Sin, you know. With my help, of course! What's Sin? Well, some sort of big monster they say. Hey, hey, Braska! Say hi!" My old man narrated. Braska smiled sheepishly and waved his hand.

Then the image on the sphere faded out. I shook the sphere again, and a soft, tenor voice rang out this time.

"Auron… could you at least smile a little?" It was Braska, and it seemed to me that he was the one holding the spherecam this time. The same younger Auron we saw on the earlier recording was now standing stiffly under the archway sign of Lake Macalania. My old man was on his far right looking a bit smug like he always did.

"Ha! Auron smiling? Good luck. Chocobos would have a better chance of suddenly breeding dragons out of their eggs than that." My old man spat in his mocking voice.

"What did you say, you drunken bastard?" The Auron in the image answered back.

"Oh, ho! That your best insult? You clearly have delusions of adequacy, dumbass." My old man retorted.

"Oh, yeah? Well, your family tree is like a cactuar, everybody on it is a prick!" The younger version of Auron responded.

"What did you say?" That seemed to spike the anger of my old man in the image and he marched towards Auron menacingly. The younger Auron didn't back down and glared at him.

"Guys, guys, please…" Braska sighed wearily, and the image brought by the hologram function faded out again.

Everyone was silent. I did not know if there were romanticized stories about Braska's pilgrimage in Spira, but this certainly disproved the population's idealism. My old man and Auron seemed to fight all the time, and being Yuna's father who was probably responsible for her kind and gentle nature, Braska was totally the appropriate one to act as their only mediator, as if he was a parent to two addle-brained kids. It just showed that they were very human just like the rest of us, before they became the legendary heroes every citizen in Spira seemed to know about.

"So he was still an asshole even here, huh." I managed to say, more to Auron than to anyone else.

Auron only chuckled and said, "There's more. Shake the sphere again."

I shook the sphere and this time an exact image of the clearing we were currently in came out. The image was upside down though, as if the spherecam was placed haphazardly on the ground. The image faded out again, and then afterwards, there was my old man, sitting in a lotus position, with the image still upside down. He looked… serious, which was strange because I had never seen him like that before.

"Hey. If you're watching this right now, then you're also probably stuck in Spira like me. You might not know when you'll be able to go back home, but you better not be crying! Although, I guess I'd understand. But you know… there are times that you just have to stop crying and pick yourself up. You'll be fine. Remember, you're my son, and I lov – never mind." He scratched his head and looked to the side. Then he went back to looking at the spherecam. "I believe in you. Be good. Farewell."

Then the image of the sphere finally faded out for the last time. I shook it again to see if there was more, but it seemed that that was the last image it had.

I had to blink twice just to let myself know that I was not seeing things. My old man… he seemed different there somehow. "He sounded serious. Huh, that's a first."

"He was serious." Auron looked at me then. Then he stared at the Macalania trees on my far right as he recounted, "Jecht… he… was always talking about going home, back to Zanarkand. That's why he recorded those images, to show them to you and your mother, Lenore, when he returned. But as he journeyed with us, he came to understand Spira… and Braska's resolve and he changed. He decided that he would continue fighting Sin with us instead."

I looked at the blue memory sphere that still glowed in my hand. I guess I understood now why Auron wanted me to see this. At some point, he had to tell me that there was just no going back home, back to my old Zanarkand. There was only Yuna's pilgrimage now, and I had to learn to accept this fact now, just as my old man did on his pilgrimage with Braska. That didn't mean that it was an easy thing to swallow though.

I nodded as I tried to ponder on this. Everyone seemed to be on a pensive mood for me though, so I started to lift their spirits up. "Alright, let's go."

Everyone started moving out of the clearing, but when the rest was out of earshot, Auron called out my name again.

"Wait." He ordered me.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"One more thing. Jecht loved you. He said he just didn't know how to express it." Auron told me sincerely, his good eye fixed on my face.

"Didn't know how to express it? That's his excuse? More like he was doing it the wrong way. He always treated me like I was dirt in his shoes." I started to rant grudgingly. I meant, I could completely understand Auron wanting me to accept my fate here in Spira just as my old man did, but going beyond it and forgetting what all my old man did to me back in Zanarkand was another thing, you know. And I wasn't just ready for that yet.

"You were always crying, even on little things. He wanted you to toughen up."

"By insulting and criticizing my every move? I was a kid, for Zanarkand's sake!" I shouted and clenched my fists in anger. Everything about my old man and me seemed to boil certain resentment inside of me. And talking about it even more took it past the boiling point. "And what happened to my mom. Have you forgotten, Auron?"

"I wish you would not pin your mother's death on your father anymore. Tidus, you are old enough to know that Lenore always had the choice to fight her own despair. She didn't want to and took her own life. So Jecht was a foolish husband and an even more foolish parent, and he made mistakes. We all make mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them. Know that Jecht changed as he stayed with Braska and me in our pilgrimage." Auron walked towards me and put his hands on my shoulders to force me to look at him. When I defiantly lowered my head and looked away, he put his hands on the sides of my head instead. His one good brown eye looked at my eyes, the most serious it had ever been. "I know we had never talked about this, but Jecht truly loved you and your mother, Tidus. He wouldn't have sent me to Zanarkand to take care of you both if he didn't constantly think of you two. Forgive him and let go of your anger."

"Do you think it's that easy? With all the years of pain he gave me? And after I met you…" I paused, wondering if I should say what I wanted to say. Auron and I never really talked about my old man and about the reason why this red Guardian in front of me came to Zanarkand to take care of me. I just accepted before that he just showed up in our house's doorstep like an angel wanting to help us in any way he could. So these feelings that I was feeling now, they were like a dam threatening to collapse by the weight of the waters. But if I didn't say what I wanted to say right now, when will the right time ever be? "After I met you…" I began again, but I looked away from his good eye. What I was about to say was a deep secret I never told him before. "I wished many many times that you were my father instead of him. Back then when we were in Zanarkand, back when I was younger. You were there and… I was just –

I was just so alone."

Auron then released his hands from the sides of my head and stepped back to look at the crystal glowing Macalania Trees on his far right. For the longest time that I knew him, I realized that this was his own way of bracing himself of the important revelation he was about to say. Especially about things that he found hard to say. "...I did what I could to help you and Lenore, to raise you well when she passed away. But the truth was, Tidus... I wouldn't have spared you a single thought if Jecht didn't ask me to. So do not put me on a pedestal and place your own father beneath me. I am broken and imperfect just as Jecht was. But he is your father and I am not. And he is the kind of father who will always love you more than I ever will. Do you understand?"

Silence enveloped both of us after Auron said his piece. For a few moments, the only sound to be heard between us was the sound of crickets scattered among the crystal trees. Maybe he was right though. Maybe I had always hero-worshipped Auron, making him out to be the father-figure shaped peg that filled the hole my own old man had left in my life. But was it wrong when that was what Auron had exactly been to me? Was it wrong when all he did for me was all the right things a father should have done in the first place?

"I think... I understand." I told him. Maybe this time, I should stop seeing what a father should be by having Auron as my one and only criteria. Maybe that was the key to changing my heart and mind about certain things.

"I am not asking you to accept Jecht right away. Only hold back your views of what he once was, and see him in a different light." Auron said to me, and I nodded slowly, willing myself to do what he wanted.

"Come. Yuna and the rest are waiting." He declared, now ready to leave this secluded part of Macalania Woods and go to the area where the rest of the party was waiting. He turned and walked for a few steps, but then he noticed me not moving. He looked back at me then, concern marring his features. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head to snap out of the dream-like state I was in. This talk Auron and I had just seemed to overload my head with emotions, including most especially the blue memory sphere I was holding in my hand. Not that it was a bad thing; it was just overwhelming. Then I remembered something that I should have done a long, long time ago, but I had not. Why had I not done it years ago? "Auron, wait." I called out to him, and he looked at me curiously. "I mean… you said you wouldn't have come to Zanarkand for me if my old man didn't ask you to. But the fact remains that you did. So…" I looked away from the man I was talking to and scratched my head nervously. Gee, I was just not good at these things. I inhaled a breath and then said in a rush, "I... justwanttosaythanksforwatchingovermeforthepasttenyears."

He chuckled at my struggle to voice out simple thanks. But I always thought Auron was the kind of person who always knew what another person meant even when how it was said was kind of sloppy.

"You don't have to thank me, Tidus. I would never trade those ten years for the world." He said to me, giving me one of those few rare smiles he did so infrequently. I nodded to him and smiled back, feeling energized by the things I discovered and unraveled here in Macalania Woods.

"Let's go." I said to the Red Guardian.

It still might take a long time, and it might be a really really long shot. But now, more than ever, I wanted to meet my old man, to find him even underneath the shell of Sin. Then maybe, maybe he and I could make peace now. Maybe he and I could accept each other for what we were and what we could be.

 **AN: Whew! This chapter is the longest one I wrote so far. I hoped you enjoyed reading it as well as I enjoyed writing it. Little notes for things here and there:**

 **1) I figured Tidus' hatred for his dad ran very deep and so someone had to talk him out of it. Of course, Auron should do it, since he knew Jecht more, so that's how the last scene turned out. Hoped it wasn't too dramatic. I am very open for your comments on this scene.**

 **2) Some of the insults thrown back and forth by Auron and Jecht in the Jecht Sphere second scene are not my own. I like to think I'm too kind that I couldn't even invent an insult for someone, but anyway, I just found them online, and there are lots out there. Some are worthy of a good laugh.**

 **3) Rikku's sea shanty is an actual sea shanty titled 'Donkey Riding'. I first heard it on Assassin's Creed Rogue (great game, that one, btw). I just changed the donkey into a chocobo. ^_^**

 **4) Oh, and I'm giving big hugs for anyone who could guess why I named Tidus' mom as 'Lenore'.**

 **So there you have it. Whole Macalania Woods in one chapter; I hoped it didn't feel too rushed. Don't forget to let me know your thoughts about this whole thing. Next is a Rikku POV wherein Wakka discovers she is an Al Bhed and a special scene with her and Auron on a speeder machina. Thanks for reading! :)**


	22. Heretics vs Zealots

**RofDisclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **AN: Here's the gang in Lake Macalania! Lots of fun, excitement, action, suspense, and a bit of fluff. This longer than usual, but enjoy reading! :)**

 **Chapter 22: Heretics vs. Zealots**

 _ **Rikku**_

Marriages were supposed to be happy events to look forward to. At least, that was how I wanted my own marriage to be. And time and again that was how I wanted Yunie's marriage to Seymour to be as well, even though it wasn't the sort of perfect match that was made by heaven. But everyone was acting as if Yunie had died, and we were going to her funeral instead. So it was up to me to cheer everyone up, right? That was my first job in this Summoner's party afterall, because, you know, without me they would be such a gloomy group; second was synthesizing their weapons to maximum; third's probably to steal some goodie goods and gils from fiends while evading and tap dancing in front of said fiends so they (and by 'they' I mean our heavy hitters) could strike them dead. Anyway, I knew that I had to do something to keep the pilgrimage from being a sadness parade. So when we entered Macalania Woods, I was back to my own antics, singing old sea shanties and cracking jokes. It didn't matter if it was only bonehead Wakka who indulged me with attention. I knew they were all listening, and so by the time we exited Macalania Woods I had a good feeling that I lifted everyone's sprits up.

I didn't expect what was waiting for us on the other side of Macalania Woods though. "Holy shoopuf! Is this what I think it is?" I ran ahead and spun in wonder at my new surroundings. Can you take a hint at what it was? It was white, cold, and fluffy to the hands. You could make a desert out of them, though I wouldn't think it would be sterile.

"What are you so excited about all of a sudden?" Wakka asked me, catching up to me at the side of the small mountain of said holiness where I jumped up and down, then rolled over the ground forming angels the way I read on storybooks.

"Snow, you big dummy!" I sat up and scooped some of the white, icy fluffiness, formed it round, and threw it at Tidus. The blonde oaf then decided to use his blitzball reflexes and dodged it with a 'Whoa!', leaving the snowball to land on Mr. Dressed for Winter's shoulder with a loud thud.

"Oops." I managed to say, flushed in embarrassment because Mr. Dressed for Winter looked at me as if I was a five-year old who got caught taking cookies out from the cookie jar past bedtime.

"Uhh, you've never seen snow before? Most of Spira have winter season. Where on Spira did you grow up, ya?" Wakka asked, a bit curiously.

"Uhh… pretty far away. I grew up on an island on the western Spiran seas. There's no snow there… so..." I mumbled, trying to be discreet about where I grew up. Many know that Bikanel island was on the western seas, but not many know how to locate Home since the island was almost like a small continent itself in size, and the climate was as dry as a parched well. As in sun-dried. There was only sun and sand and sea. Nonetheless, I couldn't risk having Wakka know where I came from and what I am (at least not yet). Also, where the Home was located was a deep secret for every Al Bhed. Call it paranoia, but during Spira's racial wars, some Al Bhed communities were raided, burned, and driven away. That was what prompted my Pops to build our machina Home, so all Al Bhed would have a place to belong, even in a world where no one wanted us.

"The western seas? Are you close to the sand island where they say the Al Bhed's live?" Wakka inquired more. I knew he was just interested for no ill reason, and I knew he wouldn't rat out where Home was if he knew where it was even though he was a stuck up Yevonite, but still, an Al Bhed girl like me had to be cautious, you know.

"Oh, that…. Uhh..." I stammered, trying to quickly invent some other fictional island where I magically grew up in. It was unbelievably good that Auron thought it was time for him to get out of his pensive thoughts and help a struggling Al Bhed girl out.

"Rikku. You must be cold with what you're wearing. Go buy a coat at that Travel Agency." He said to me, sounding like a command from a fashion general to a private with no sense of style at all. Good thing Wakka didn't notice the odd transition that blocked his question out and left it hanging in the air.

"There's a Travel Agency?" I asked, dumbfounded. General Red raised his hand and pointed out the direction of the Travel Agency with his gloved finger. I looked at the same direction, and there it was, Lake Macalania Travel Agency. Huh, who knew? Uncle Rin was sure expanding his business.

Then General Red did something unexpected: he threw his wallet at me. I was so surprised I barely caught it with my two hands.

"Go take Lulu and Yuna with you, and buy… whatever clothes that will make you warm." He announced with no hesitation, and I bounced up and down in excitement, 'cause hey, who wouldn't be excited with clothes shopping even in the small selection the Travel Agency usually had?

"Did you hear that Yunie? Mr. Santa Claus just gave us his money to spend! Hurrah!" I tugged Yunie's arm happily.

"Santa – what?" She asked, confused at my allusion. This poor girl really needed to get her head out of pilgrimages and arranged marriages. They were probably the only things on her mind since she was a child, which I think was very sad and boring.

"Oh, don't mind me. Come on, girls, it's shopping time!" I exclaimed.

"Hey, what about us? I'm cold too, you know." Tidus chimed in instantly, as if he was the youngest kid on the block who was always left out in some crazy neighborhood group gimmicks.

"Go ask Lulu for the party fund." Mr. Santa Claus grunted while fixing his collar. I was sure he was turning into a scrooge this time. This amount of significant personality change was astounding. But then again, this was Auron we were talking about. He was always hot or cold.

"Lu?" Wakka asked our treasurer with a pleading face. I meant, I could empathize with this guy, his current clothing was built for tropical summer.

"If you want to eat fiend carcasses instead of decent meals, then you can buy ones for yourselves as well." Lulu said harshly. I knew her task as the party's fund keeper was hard, with everyone requesting this and that most of the time, but boy, she didn't have to be that cruel at that level.

Auron then chuckled at Lulu's comment. I swore, sometimes this guy had a sick fascination that came from torturing people. What did one call it? Ah, _Schadenfreude_. "Run around and fight some fiends in the meantime, Tidus. That'll keep you warm for sure."

See what I meant? Classic Auron line.

"What? That's unfair! Can't you see I'm freezing?" Tidus countered and did an overacting performance of a guy who was freezing to death complete with teeth-gnashing and shivering and all. He could audition for Luca's Metropolitan Theatre with his performance, but I doubt he would get accepted.

Auron sighed wearily and pinched the bridge of his nose. If Tidus' tales of his Zanarkand days with Auron were true, I could totally see the poor old man do this every time Tidus did his antics and wanted something, be it an ice cream or some expensive blitzball gear. "…Fine, you bunch of little children. Buy something for yourselves as well. Just make sure they last until we go past Gagazet."

"Alright!" Tidus screamed, now happy that he got his way (and not freezing anymore, just to say).

"Yeah! Thanks, Sir Auron!" Wakka said, and we all rushed to the Travel Agency to do some winter clothes shopping.

xxxxx

"You give it back." I said to him, standing my ground firmly this time.

"No, _you_ give it back." He said to me stubbornly.

"What? You're the one who wanted to buy a thousand gil coat! Mine and the other's were only less than half the price, you know."

"Yeah, but you bought the bracer. That's got to be more than a thousand gil."

"Well, someone's got to buy him something. It's his money. And I pitched in with my own money on the bracer, you know." I stuck my tongue out at him, but he just dismissed it with a wave of his hand.

"Nah, you don't know Auron. He probably only gave you a fifth of what he had in his pockets. You're the one who was so happy to get a shopping treat from him! So, you give it back."

"Argh, fine!" I grumbled at Tidus, wanting our argument to end already. What was it that we were arguing about? Well… about who should give Auron's empty wallet back to him. I meant, sure, everyone got a fine, free treat, but then again, we got so excited about shopping that we didn't notice the wallet was now empty of gil. What kind of empty? Like lemon squeezed empty. I didn't know why Tidus was so dense about it, but I surely think there was nothing more embarrassing than giving back an empty wallet to the guy who trusted you with its contents. Maybe it's a culture thing. I heard people say that us Al Bhed's were stingy. I think that was just us being careful with money because we knew how hard it was to earn it.

I sighed. Good thing Mr. Generous decided to just wait outside of Lake Macalania's Travel Agency. I couldn't imagine what horror it would be if he was inside here with us. I silently went to the corner and examined the wallet again, wishing that some bills would magically reappear, but nope, it was really really empty. I decided to go through my own purse; I only had coins left that amounted to about two-hundred gil. I had spent my big bills on the bracer, paying for half of its price, because I knew it was a good bracer – a rare find, and his own was maxed out already. The new bracer was light as a feather and had Auto-shell and Auto-protect on it, plus two more customization slots. I knew it'd be perfect for him, and I managed to haggle it down to a much lower price, so I just bought it, pitching in with my own money so there would still be enough gil left in the wallet. Stupid Tidus had to buy the expensive carbuncle wool coat though because he thought it looked cool on him, instead of the standard sheep wool coats that we bought, emptying the wallet consequently. It was no use regretting over it though. What's done was done. I sighed again, placing half of my gil coins inside the wallet. Oh well, if _he_ got angry about his empty wallet, I'll just take the bracer back to the Travel Agency and have the money I paid back.

After mentally preparing myself, I went outside and found Mr. Generous by the chocobo pen, petting a chocobo. It was an odd sight, but it made him look so relaxed that I had to stop and watch him for a few moments to make sure my eyes were not deceiving me. Then I walked silently to him, and he turned around just in time to regard me.

"Are you all done?" He asked me while his hand left the chocobo alone completely. Then, as if begging for his attention again, the chocobo on his right nudged its head on his shoulder; he found it funny and chortled and his gloved hand unconsciously went back to petting the yellow bird softly.

"Uhh, yeah. Thanks. We had fun shopping." I blurted out, trying to stop myself from reddening when I handed him back his wallet which he would soon find out I filled with gil coins.

"Hmph. Sounds like you had too much fun. I don't remember having gil coins inside of this." He observed as he looked inside his wallet.

"Oh, that. Well, uhh… all of us got a bit carried away… heh heh." I looked away as I blushed. I was sure he got my drift.

"Not you though." He regarded me and stepped closer towards me. Then he grasped my right hand that was wholly covered by the cuffs of my new coat. "You bought a coat two sizes bigger than your size."

"Oh. Well, uhh… it was cheaper, and the size that fit me was more expensive because of its fabric."

"You should have asked me for more gil."

"It's ok. Besides, I bought you this." I told him and handed him the box where the new bracer was. He looked confused more than surprised, but he opened it, and then became silent when he saw what was inside. I had thought he didn't like it at first, so I began to ramble about its features before he could say anything else. "I-It's a Marching Bracer. It's light, and it has Auto-protect and Auto-shell, plus two more customization slots. Yours currently only had two and it was maxed out already, so I…"

"You bought a cheaper coat, so you could buy me this bracer?" He asked, looking at me, then back to the bracer, finally realizing what secretly happened inside the Travel Agency.

"Umm, I know you never said you wanted anything… but, yeah... I guess that's what happened." I scratched my head now, feeling more embarrassed this time.

He only grunted, and then he unfastened his old bracer and put on the new one. Instantly, the Auto-shell and Auto-protect kicked in, and he was shrouded with blue and magenta lights for a moment. Then he shook his arm, testing the weight of the bracer. He smiled at me then, finding it as the way I had described it to him. "It's… good. Thank you, Rikku."

"Nope, don't thank me. Half of it was your moneee – ooops, shouldn't have said that! P-Pretend you didn't hear anything!" Holy shoopuf! I slipped! He wasn't supposed to know that. I was now dancing around wildly as if I had bugs in my shorts. You know, the creepy ones that did not stop biting you. That sort of wicked bugs.

He chuckled then, a soft rumble. "Ah, so you also paid for half of its price, hmph. Come." He said, ignoring my tap dancing. He started walking towards the Travel Agency.

"Uhh, wait, where are you going?" I asked him, following him with a worry that he would just take the bracer back to the Travel Agency so he could get my money back.

"To buy you a coat that doesn't look like it was handed down to you by your older brother." He stopped, looking at me and raising an eyebrow as if I did the wrong thing by stopping him.

"Y-You don't have to! I'm fine with this, I swear. One doesn't really have to spend so much for coats." I stammered while waving my cuff-covered gloved hands in front of him.

"Ah. Are you worried about my gil?" He asked me, finally understanding why I was so anxious and embarrassed in the first place.

"Uhh… maybe?" I flushed as red as a tomato again and looked away from him. Gee, I just hated it when people could see straight right through me. And he was one of the only few persons who could.

"Don't be. I was a veteran Bevelle soldier before I became a Guardian. For ten years, I never touched my service pension. I have amassed a lot, and I would rather spend it on you than anything else right now." He shrugged his shoulders as if what he said was just a common thing for him. Maybe it was. Or maybe that was his secret pick-up line to grab chicks from taverns and pubs. I wouldn't know.

But if I wasn't already flushing red before, then I must have flushed even more. I knew it was every girl's dream to have a man shower her with gil, but I also knew at that moment that he was just acting out his gentleman manners. Auron was weird and probably a bit old-fashioned that way. He was probably the kind of man who dated a woman and paid for everything: the food, the drinks, the theater tickets, even including the said woman's taxi cab fare on her way home. But it was not like he and I were… well, you know what I meant. So, nope, nada, no dice on that. Besides, yours truly liked boys who were about two to three years older than her, not some grumpy-moody-broody man who I was sure was too old to be my...

"Rikku, your mouth is hanging open."

See what I meant? Another classic Auron line: stating the obvious to embarrass you more, like the time I got up, went to breakfast, and he said bluntly that I had drool on my face. Like duhh! I just woke up from bed. What did he expect? Make-up?

"Oh, alright. If you wish to spend your big bucks, it's not my call, Mr. Richie Rich." I said to him, giving in to his decision.

"Hmph. Thank the Fayth that I do not always know who you're alluding me to." He said to me, opening the door of the Travel Agency and waiting for me to pass through before leaving it to shut on its own.

See? A gentleman. Crazy and moody, but still a gentleman.

xxxxx

"Are you really sure they're going to meet you here?" He asked for like the gazillionth time already, and I swore, if he asked one more time, I was going to sidekick his impatient, little butt, Zanarkand Blitzball player or not. What was the commotion all about? Well, Yunie and we were waiting for His Royal Highness Seymour's escorts to arrive in the open space of Lake Macalania for a longer time than we expected. Lulu fired two Firas to the sky already as a flare signal. But we received no reply from them. Huh, weird.

"They confirmed, Tidus. I wouldn't think they would be lying about it." Yunie answered patiently. I really didn't know how she could stand Tidus' incessant whining. It was like the guy suffered from ADHD or something. He just couldn't shut up, stand still, and wait.

"Well, maybe they changed their minds. Like they're not interested any longer. Like Seymour changed his mind and decided he still wanted to be single after all. Or maybe they were attacked by fiends. Or maybe a blizzard blew them awa – Ouch! Rikku!"

Sorry, I couldn't help it. I kicked the back of his knee instead.

"I sent the telegram while we were at the Lake Macalania Travel Agency. Even so, I still have to talk to Maester Seymour." Yunie replied, always kind and gracious, even to Tidus' imaginative dreaming of having her marriage hindered.

"Your wait is over. They are here." Auron said, looking out far beyond, with serious deep voice and all. And I had to stifle a laugh at how he said it. See, Auron's voice? I sometimes thought he could advertise lipsticks, underwear, or even a fly swatter (which no one really buys in Spira for a weird reason) and it would hypnotize you into purchasing them. This time? He sounded like he was introducing a premiere Luca movie starred by your favorite Spiran boy band, if you knew what I meant. Not that I'm into boy bands, yuck. I was more into rock, like my brother. And trust me, that dude loved it more than me; so much he inked it into his skin. Idiot, right? But we could chuck it all up to freedom of self-expression.

Anyway, in a few seconds after Auron said that the wait was over, the Guado escorts arrived with chariots driven by Snow Wolves. Scary, right? It was always a question of mine how Guados could control fiends.

"Lady Yuna, forgive us for our delay. Lord Seymour asked us to arrange something, a personal matter, at the temple before picking you up. I hope your wait was not that long." The old Guado with the green hair said to Yunie, and it jolted me away from my thoughtful meanderings.

"It is alright. We were just worried that something might have happened. We sent a flare signal." Yunie said.

"Ah, yes. Twice. But as you see, we Guados are limited when it comes to elemental magic. Only a few of us are capable. We are handlers of fiends though." Mr. Green Hair explained. "But it seems that we have tarried long enough. Shall we leave, Lady Yuna?"

"Yes, I believe so." Yunie said and started walking towards Mr. Green Hair. I thought she was leaving without a word for us, but then when she was beside Mr. Green Hair, she turned to us and smiled a hopeful smile that was slightly laced with sorrow. I kind of understood then that she really didn't want to be parted from us. "I'm leaving now. I'll see you in a while, I guess…"

"We'll be right behind you." Auron said, clear and crisp. I knew it was what Yunie wanted to hear the most. And it was enough for her to put on a brave face again. She nodded in acknowledgement, and then she and the green-haired Guado started to walk to the chariots to board them.

I kicked the back of Tidus' knee again to wake him up from his silent, resigned state. See, it was really not a secret among us anymore that Tidus had a thing for Yunie. These two were as obvious as two love birds chirping love songs to each other when they were together. And to be honest, I would prefer Tidus marrying Yunie more than stinky, fishy Seymour. When Tidus yelped from my kick, I quickly turned to his side and whispered, "Say something!"

"I… but… uhh…" He looked confused for a moment, and then a smile crossed his face. I knew then that he had thought of something. "Yuna!" He shouted, but Yunie was in a distance a bit far away now, and she didn't hear him. Then, Tidus ran for a few meters and whistled as loud as he could. Yunie heard it and looked back at him and whistled back.

I didn't know what that meant to these two, but I was sure glad they did their thing. I was still going to root for their relationship to blossom into something more no matter what. I felt content at that moment, though I still did not know what would happen to Yunie and Seymour's marriage. Nevertheless, I shouldn't start being gloomy about it. I had a feeling that everything would be alright.

But little did I know, my worst nightmare was about to start. As Yunie and the Guado escorts boarded their chariots, four Al Bhed's on speeder machina's surrounded them. I couldn't make out their faces because they wore masks and goggles. But I had a feeling they were one of Brother's group of friends.

"Al Bhed's!" Wakka shouted and started running quickly to where Yunie was. All of us followed after him, especially Auron who moved so swiftly, knocking down two of the speeder machinas that were blocking the path to Macalania Temple.

"Go your way, now! We'll take care of this!" Auron shouted to the green-haired Guado who was in command of the chariot where Yunie was.

"But…" Yunie protested.

"Leave, now! We'll be fine." Auron assured her, and the green-haired Guado nodded and drove the chariot Yunie was riding to the path towards Macalania Temple.

"Tsk. The Al Bhed's sure picked a good time to attack." Wakka mumbled, as two of the Al Bhed's on speeder machina circled around us menacingly. I wanted to talk to them. To explain to them that they did not have to do what my Pops said. That Yunie was fine, and we were protecting her. But before I could say anything, a familiar voice rang from the northern side of the open space of Lake Macalania.

"Rikku! Tu hud ehdanvana! Ouin sykel yht yauhc yna caymat!" It was Brother standing on the small iceberg, and he just brandished his Crawler machina behind him, which I knew he was working on with Pops back when we were still strategizing how to kidnap Yunie. My luck just really ran out and became negative.

"Hey! Uhh, translation?" Tidus asked me, not mindful of Wakka discovering that I was an Al Bhed anymore.

"He said he's going to use an anti-magic field on us!" I answered Tidus, all worried and anxious now. Lightning was always the primary weakness of machina, but if Lulu's black magic was sealed, I did not know what else we could do. Brother started the Negator, and immediately Lulu felt her magic warded.

"Do not fret. There's no one way to defeat an opponent. Rikku, what do you know of this machina?" Auron asked calmly, as if we were not on the brink of impending doom.

"It's slow on assault, but it packs a lot of punch. It has a Gattling gun installed and a particle generator for a Mana Beam." I said, racking my brain for the specifications I saw every once in a while in Home's machina hangars.

"You're a mechanic. Do you think you can tear it apart when I give you an opening?" Auron asked.

"I…" I suddenly felt unsure about myself. See, my brother? He was what we called a 'paranoid mechanic'. And what that meant was that he always had contingency plans up under his sleeve when building machina. And there had been many times when I had fallen into his sadistic traps, like the time he gave me an exploding robodog as a gift; of course, he never meant it to hurt me though. It was just his sense of fun.

"I'll guard you to get you close. Throw Electro Marbles on the Negator." Auron said to me, and sometimes I thought he believed in me more than I believed in myself. Then he turned to the others and said, "Kimahri, place Lulu behind you! Lulu standby with Thundara until your magic is unsealed! Tidus, Haste on everyone, Slow on the machina! Wakka on the front with Tidus, keep the machina occupied and keep hitting with Darkness Strike!" Auron commanded us, like he always did, acting as our general in the battlefield with adrenaline rushing in his veins.

Wakka and Tidus did as they were told. Kimahri guarded Lulu from assaults as he was commanded while Lulu stood strongly ready to fire a Thundara; and Auron and I ran towards the back of the Crawler machina, with him guarding me from the Gatling gun that swept over us frequently.

After a few strikes by Wakka and Tidus, the Negator went down, and they shouted together, "Lulu, Thundara!"

Lulu didn't waste time, she sent out bolts after bolts of Thundara, shocking the Crawler machina to a complete stand still. That was when Auron took my hand, rushing to where the control panel of the machina was. But then I figured out that something was totally off. It was then that I knew my brother as a paranoid mechanic kicked in.

"Oh no!" I squealed in fear, while trying to override the machina's programming.

"What is it?" Auron asked, still with no hint of worry on his face. I really didn't know how he could keep his cool in the battlefield. It was as if he lived and breathed for these moments.

"We shouldn't have taken down the Negator. This machina's now programmed to do Total Mana Beam in forty-five seconds."

"What does that mean?" Auron asked again.

"Total annihilation in all directions! Like… Kaboom!" I replied nervously, desperately trying to hack the machina's system and gain access to override said impending destruction.

"And if it explodes here, it would be over, and we sink into the bottom of the lake." Auron concluded darkly. He looked at me then, seemingly just as lost as I was. "What can we do?"

"I…" I really thought hard on this. The clock was winding down, and we were running out of time. Fleeing away on our feet would not take us very far to avoid the effects of the explosion. There was only one thing we could do, and hope to hell that luck would be on our side. "Brute force. If we could take out the core power source of this machina, it will stop working. But this armor is the toughest ever created, and I don't know if there would be enough time..."

"We won't know until we try." Auron nodded and shouted to the others, "Everyone, all out attack on the armor and see if you find the core power source!" Then he turned to me, "Stand back." And he swung his broad katana to where we thought the core power source was located, and he kept using a technique of his that he thought would penetrate the machina's tough exterior. It was Armor Break. He struck and struck, and little by little the armor started to give in, but the clock was still ticking.

"Ten seconds!" I shouted, and Auron and the rest started doubling the pace of their attacks.

After one heaviest strike from Auron, the armor completely split wide open, and, by luck, there it was, the core power source glowing radiantly in front of both of us. I quickly went in front of Auron, snuck my little hand into the gap, and grabbed the shining core from where it was attached. I didn't know how many seconds we had left, but as soon as the core was displaced from its slot, the charging and grinding sounds of the Crawler machina quieted down and everything turned as silent as a cemetery.

"You did it." Auron said, unusually and unceremoniously flopping to the ground in heaving breaths while wiping the sweat from his brow.

" _We_ did it." I corrected him, willing my heart to slow down from its frantic beating. I swore, it was beating so hard, I would have had a cardiac arrest. The core power source was shining brilliantly in my palm. Who knew that such a little rock could power such a powerful machina? Nevertheless, we got lucky. It was as if the Fayth gave us another chance at life.

Everyone ran to where we were, and Wakka and Tidus helped us up to our feet. Then all of us were laughing and grinning like idiots. I guess that was what normally would happen to you if you truly had a real brush with death.

However, some things weren't over for me. I saw Brother looking back at me from where he stood on the small iceberg at the northern side, and he gave me a look filled with contempt. Geez, he almost killed all of us, and he still had the right to be angry? "Rikku! E femm damm vydran!" He shouted at me.

"E ys y kiynteyh uv Yuna! Lyh'd oui caa? Cra'c cyva! Fa'na bnudaldehk ran!" I told him, wishing that it would go through his skull.

But he shook his head instead and said, "Oui tu drec ymuha, cecdan!".

Tidus looked at me with concern in his features. I meant, I knew he couldn't understand Al Bhed but Brother's tone of voice said it all. "Are you alright?" He asked me.

"I'm fine. I told him I was guarding Yuna. He had to know at some point, really." I said, brushing off my Brother's contempt and placing the core power source in my pocket. I smiled inwardly, because boy, that core would be real handy someday.

"How come you speak Al Bhed?" Wakka suddenly asked me, scratching his head, and I really felt sorry at this time that he still had not figured it all out.

I closed my eyes for a moment and breathed in and out. I wish the revelation would have come in at a later time but, well, things just did not work that way. "Because… I'm an Al Bhed, and… that was my brother."

Wakka went wide-eyed with shock. Then he looked at the rest of the party and noticed that they weren't shocked. I guessed this was what made him even angrier. "You all knew? Why didn't you tell me?"

"We knew you'd be upset." Lulu answered for the rest of us.

"Damn right, I'd be upset! I can't believe I've been travelling with an Al Bhed all this time! A heathen!" Wakka ranted immediately.

"So we do not believe in Yevon. It doesn't mean we have anything against it. Every person has the right to their own beliefs." I said to him in defense.

"Yeah, but you Al Bhed's use forbidden machina. Just like that – that one that almost killed us!" Wakka pointed to the remains of the Crawler machina. "Do you know what that means? Sin was born because people like you used machina!"

"Oh, yeah? Where's the proof? Show me proof!" I answered back to Wakka. This was the most common thing Yevonites blamed the Al Bhed's for. We Al Bhed's were told to get used to it, but I couldn't just stand there and let him do the same to me.

"It's in Yevon's teachings! Of course, you wouldn't know anything about that!"

"That's not good enough! The Yevon Church says this and that, and you all Yevonites follow blindly. You have minds of your own. Can't you think for yourselves?" I asked Wakka, because his reasons as a Yevonite were really illogical, in my opinion. He sounded like a parrot saying back the words its master told him.

"Ah, you Al Bhed's think you're all so smart because you know all machina. But tell me, where did Sin come from, huh?" Wakka crossed his arms proudly, wanting to corner and bring me down to my knees with the question no person in Spira really had an answer for.

"I… I don't know." I admitted to him.

"See? You bad-mouth Yevon, and you couldn't even come up with answers."

"But that doesn't mean you should do whatever Yevon wants without thinking! Have you never thought that maybe there's another way to stop Sin?"

"Sin will be gone when we achieve complete atonement!" He said so proudly, like he really believed in this silly fantasy.

"When? How?" I asked him, wanting to draw him out of his close-minded world.

"When everyone keeps faith to Yevon's teachings!"

"Rikku, will this operate?" Auron asked me nonchalantly while looking at the speeder machinas Brother's group left behind. It was probably just to break my conversation with thick-headed Wakka. Or maybe he just seriously wanted to go after Yuna immediately since we had been delayed long enough. Whatever his reasons were, I was sure glad he saved me out of the trouble of enlightening Wakka's dimwitted mind and enduring the red-head's obtuse arguments.

Wakka didn't waste time to act like a complete dunderhead though. He spun around to Auron's direction and surmised the most ridiculous thing I ever heard spoken. "We're not using that are we? Wait… Sir Auron isn't an Al Bhed too, is he?"

See what I meant? I thought all of us gave out a heavy sigh. The Legendary Guardian Auron an Al Bhed? Now, wouldn't that be something? I never thought about awarding Al Bhed citizenship to a non-Al Bhed before; maybe I had to ask my Pops about the process once I met him again.

"Come on, Wakka. Getting angry because you found out Rikku's an Al Bhed? Seriously? Think deeply. Did she ever hurt you before? You guys got along just fine until now, didn't you?" Tidus said, looking sideways to me, while I did my best to start the engines of the speeder machinas Auron had his eyes on without crying. "I mean I really don't know much about Spira or even the Al Bhed, but I know Rikku's a good person. She's just Rikku!"

Wakka looked confused now. Tidus really had a point, but the red-head still wouldn't back down. He turned to Lulu for her opinion instead. "Lu?"

"Just think of this as an opportunity to learn about the Al Bhed." The black mage said.

"Ha! Like I'd want to learn anything from them." Wakka said defiantly and started walking to the path to Macalania Temple.

Tidus was about to run after Wakka when Auron halted him with his words, "Let him go. Give him time to think."

"All done and ready to go." I said to the rest of the party as I was finished trying to rev up the engines of the speeder machinas. All of them looked at me thoughtfully, and I was a bit relieved that they stood up for me against Wakka's prejudice, but I couldn't help feeling guilty for destroying the group dynamics again. "Everyone… I'm sorry." I said to them apologetically.

"You have nothing to apologize for." Lulu assured me, while motioning to sit at the back of one of the speeder machinas.

"Rikku did no wrong." Kimahri said, before going to the other speeder and taking off on his own.

"Yeah. No worries." Tidus said, hopping on to the front seat of the speeder machina where Lulu was and rolling the handlebars to test the engine for a moment. "Alright, let's go!"

With everybody gone on their way, there was only Auron and me and one speeder machina. Oh, well, I thought to myself, guess we would have to share. I sat on the front of the speeder but Mr. I-want-to-be-the-Driver looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Sit at the back." He said coolly, his hand gesturing for me to move.

Of course, I didn't want to anger Mr. I-want-to-be-the-Driver, so I scooted down to the back of the seat of the speeder. That didn't stop me from questioning his intention though. "Are you sure you know how to drive this thing?"

"Better than you." He said so arrogantly with a wicked smile, one that I would absolutely love to slap off of his face.

"Hey, I've been riding speeders since I was three. You'll be eating my engine fumes should we ever race." I mocked him.

"Then you are welcome to race me any day, Rikku." He sat on the front seat of the speeder and started testing the engine.

I suddenly didn't know where to put my hands and arms. The speeder machina wasn't one of those that had hand support at the back. But then as if sensing my secret dilemma, Auron the Driver said in his baritone voice, "Put your arms around me, Rikku. I can't have you flying away when we meet a sharp curve."

I suddenly blushed when he said that. I didn't know what was wrong about this day. I seemed to be blushing more and more around Auron and his completely, unusual, out of character ways. I guessed there were just a lot more sides about him that I didn't know even existed.

xxxxx

"You do not have to mind Wakka." Mr. Red Racedriver suddenly said to me, jolting me out of my blank state of mind. We were cruising down the pathways of Lake Macalania to the Temple for a minute now, and I was a bit surprised that he spoke.

"I know. But he – he's just such a narrow-minded bigot sometimes – "

"All bigots are narrow-minded." Auron butted in quickly, all high and mighty and probably smirking.

"Hey, don't get smart with me!" I lightly pounded his back with my fist. Smug know-it-all! But I realized he just wanted me to snap out of the dark mood the conversation Wakka and I had brought to me.

He laughed lightly, in a baritone sing-song voice. "I'm sorry for interrupting. Continue what you're saying."

"I just don't understand. We got along just fine. I like to even believe he was my friend. And then he discovers that I'm an Al Bhed, and suddenly, a heretic and a heathen is all that he sees. It isn't as if we were here to annihilate Yevon – although that sounds like a tempting idea sometimes – but, you know, we Al Bhed want the same thing. We want to rid Spira of Sin, although in a different way, without the sacrifice of Summoners. But he looks at me now as if I'm a dirty piece of shoopuf crap. He's such a… arrggh! I think he needs a good punch in the face."

"Not everything can be resolved with punches to the face, Rikku." He chuckled, more likely amused at the idea than horrified by it. I knew he was thinking of Thunder Plains where I attacked him like a crazy psychopath war-freak who just escaped out of a loony house. I felt my face turn red in embarrassment. It was a good thing he thought about that incident in a funny way now though.

"I know. I'm sorry, Auron." I told him as a consolation. He chuckled again and raised his left hand in acknowledgement.

"I was once a devout Yevonite, a zealot to the highest degree. What Yevon loved, I loved, and what Yevon hated, I hated. That included hating the Al Bhed." He said, and then he paused as he shifted the gears of the speeder. There was more to those words than that, wasn't there?

"Oookay… is this when you insert the 'but' somewhere?" I chirped impatiently, wanting to hear more of what he had to say. Because you know, Auron being in the mood to talk was like seeing Maester Mika ballet dancing in a pink tutu. Not that I was implying something there about the old Maester. But really, someone as old and single as Maester Mika had to really have some deeper secrets buried in the dungeons of Bevelle. Did I paint you a mental picture portrait? Bet that will get stuck in your head for weeks. Anyway, back to Auron. This Big Clam opening up and being all chatty suddenly? It was one of the moments one did not ever let slip away.

"But one person changed my mind." He said to me calmly while avoiding a small iceberg on the snowy road.

"Who was it?" I wondered.

"Braska's wife, Raenn."

"Yuna's mother?" I asked dumbfounded, and his head nodded.

"Yes. But at that time, she was still a friend to Braska and was living in Bevelle by running her own apothecary." Auron said as he slowed down the speeder a bit when we turned on a sharp curve.

"How did she change your mind?" I asked again, curious to know how Aunt Raenn was like in her younger days before she got it on with Uncle Braska and made a Yunie-baby.

"I came back sick from a mission handed to me by the Bevelle Red Guards. We were to kill a Fenrir that suddenly appeared at the base of Gagazet. The Ronsos could not kill it; and with the Ronsos being a newly allied Yevon nation, Bevelle sent us out to help them. We defeated it, but as I was about to collect its spoils, it suddenly had a second wind and bit my leg. Its saliva was poisonous and caused acute necrosis and paralysis in my body. I was sure I was about to die when my teammates brought me back to Bevelle. Braska's white magic couldn't heal me, but Raenn was an Al Bhed Medic. It was she who saved my life by inventing a new medicine for Fenrir poison in a matter of three days. It was never done before. And she didn't have to do it. I was... always very unkind to her. Still, she had the heart to save me."

I heard stories like this before from my Pops and from the rest of my relatives. That Yunie's mom, my Aunt Raenn, was the best Al Bhed Medic there ever was. Bring the most fatally ill and wounded to her, and she could get them fixed and up and running the next day. It was kind of like how Pops was with broken machina, except she did it with human bodies; these brother and sister were borderline geniuses who were most of the time absolutely crazy at their one interest. Aunt Raenn could also invent the newest potions and remedies in a flash, one that was sure to cure you with no side effects. And her legacy still lived on. Her knowledge about medicine was written in textbooks and was still the standard every Al Bhed Medic studied and used in their practices. But then, like all things in Spira, Sin took her away.

"You maybe an Al Bhed, Rikku, and in this period, to the rest of Spira, you may always be rejected and treated unfairly. But that is not the totality of your being. You are more than that, and it is your actions that will define further who you are. Your future is a blank page – a story waiting to be written by your own actions. And sometimes, it only takes one person to change other people's views about an entire nation. Do you understand?"

"I… I guess you're right. Thanks, Auron." I said to him, wondering a little how the winds in Spira suddenly changed. Auron was sure a complex person. One moment he was as grumpy as an unfed chocobo, then he was all gentleman, like the time when we were at the Lake Macalania Travel Agency; then he was calm and all wise-old-man the next; not that I thought he was really really old, but sometimes he just acted with wisdom that seemed like it took generations to get. I could never figure him out. Maybe he was suffering from Bipolar syndrome or something. Anyway, I couldn't stop pondering about it, so I decided to ask him instead. "Hey, why weren't you like this with me when we were in the Thunder Plains? It could have saved you a punch on the face, you know."

"I was… pre-occupied with something. Maybe a good beating was just what I needed." He said with a dark laugh. This was something I was beginning to notice about Auron too. He rarely talked about what he felt at a given time, but when he did, he sometimes covered it with dry sarcasm, as if he never really felt good about himself, or as if he loathed himself so much that he couldn't do anything but laugh wryly about it. Anyway, he was speaking again after a bit of silence. "Have patience. Wakka is a bit slow in the head, but he'll come around."

"Yeah. Slow as a Tonberry." I nodded even when he could not see me. I understood now what he wanted me to do. He wanted me to still treat Wakka just as we were before he knew I was an Al Bhed. It was the only way that that Yevon Airhead would realize that not all Al Bhed's were infidel scums of Spira.

We fell silent again as we continued the drive towards Macalania Temple. I would've been continually awestruck by all the snow around me, because hey, what do you know I was a desert girl before I became seafaring, but the white scenery got all boring after quite some time. So what's there to do but to talk? I thought back to Mr. Red Racedriver in front of me and voiced out what I had wanted to ask ever since in Thunder Plains."Auron, don't be mad about me asking, but the boy in the story you said back in the Thunder Plains... was it you?"

He was silent for a good twenty seconds that I almost thought he didn't hear me. "Why do you ask?"

"I just wanted to be sure. To... understand you, I guess. You don't have to answer if you don't want to." Ok, maybe I was the type of person who wanted to pry in other people's history, but it was in a good way, you know. I just had the habit to want to know how people ended up the way they were. Trust me, even a wandering hobo in Luca streets had a good story to tell. And it was not like I was going to write an Auron biography and sell it world-wide in Spira, although that might be a good idea since it might cash in big buckets of gil, because if you still didn't know yet, Auron was like some Guardian Superstar. But I was not that evil and gil greedy, you know.

"Yes. It was me." His voice brought me back to the present and away from my head's inane wonderings. I noticed his back stiffened a bit as he said his confirmation though. Perhaps confessing it now that the boy was him still opened his unhealed scars.

"Were… were the anti-Yevonites who hurt you… were they Al Bhed?" I did not know what took over me that made me ask that question. I was sure Auron would really appreciate me not probing on his past anymore, but I wanted know. Maybe I was hoping it was the Guados or Ronsos or even Hypellos who hurt him and his family. Maybe I didn't want to hear the name of my race spoken with disdain on his mouth. But given a choice between knowing and not knowing, I would always pick the former.

"...It does not matter anymore if they were." He told me, his deep voice in a soft timbre and his head looking sideways to my direction.

"...I'm sorry." I told him sincerely as I hugged him tighter and leaned my forehead on his upper back. Because I knew right then what he didn't want to admit to me. If there was anything I could do to change history, I would undo the moment Sin was born, of course. But you know, if some Fayth deity gave me another chance to change history again, I would change the period of Spira's racial wars. All those bloodshed and killings and hatred and discrimination, even when Sin was prowling about. One would think that one huge monster would be enough suffering for all Spirans. No, everyone created monsters in their hearts as well in that period. Hate begot hate, sprouting everywhere uncontrollably like wild weeds in spring. But kindness could beget kindness as well, you know. My mom used to say we never know how far an act of random kindness can go. But even if it only traveled a small distance, it didn't mean that we should stop doing it. Soon enough, every person in Spira will carry it within their hearts. I just wished it was that easy though.

"It was not your fault, Rikku." He placed a hand on my hand for a moment as he continued to drive the speeder.

"I know. But neither was it yours. So don't blame yourself anymore, Mr. Broody." I told him, remembering his last words as he recounted the story – the story that I now know was his own – back in Thunder Plains. He asked himself if he could have saved his family if he didn't let fear take root inside of him. _The adult that boy became still asked that question unto this day._ Was it a classic case of survivor's guilt? I didn't know, and I was not a shrink to be able to tell. Only it was clear to me that he still carried the ghosts of his past in his head and that they were still haunting him.

"…You will come to find that there are things that are truly my fault." He said so weakly and if I didn't have my arms wrapped around him and my head leaning on his left shoulder, I wouldn't have heard it. I wanted to say something more, to ease the tension and pain he was definitely feeling, but the temple of Macalania now suddenly came to view, and then, before my head could think of something to say, he was already parking the speeder machina in front of it.

He hopped off of the speeder machina and I followed him towards the entrance of Macalania Temple. I felt a certain excitement in my bones. This was the first temple I will be visiting. The Fayth of the temple was singing in an alto voice, soft and smooth, and it made my stomach feel all warm and tingly. My excitement was short-lived though when I tugged off my goggles from my eyes and brought them down to my neck. The temple guard noticed me instantly.

"Halt! The likes of her are not permitted in this place." The temple guard said with disdain in his voice.

I saw Auron's fist clench in restraint, but he said in a cool voice that I was Yuna's Guardian.

"An Al Bhed, a Guardian? Preposterous!" The temple guard exclaimed, still extending his spear and blocking our way inside the temple. Auron looked like he wanted to punch the temple guard. I guessed he could only take so much of prejudice and discrimination in one day. I felt touched the he was this way towards the Al Bhed, but I was afraid we would cause a ruckus, so I moved beside him and gently touched his arm.

"It's true. I have decided to become Yuna's Guardian. It's all I want." I pleaded the temple guard, wanting to avoid a conflict. Luckily, he was more understanding, and so he let us through grudgingly. Or maybe he just got afraid of the glare Auron gave him.

Tidus immediately greeted us, telling us that Yuna was inside the temple's Cloister of Trials. I looked to the left, and I saw Wakka by the statues looking a bit morose. He probably took the pilgrim's path to the temple which was narrow and only good for persons who were walking. Nevertheless, I tried to remind myself of what Auron said and looked back at Wakka with kindness. He saw me looking at him and then he looked away after a few seconds.

We then agreed we would all join Yuna inside the Cloister and wait for her there. But as we were about to climb the stairs, a temple nun from the servant's quarters screamed horribly.

"Lord Jyscal! A sphere in Lady Yuna's belongings…" The nun mumbled incoherently in panic and fear, running towards us and handing the sphere to Auron.

"This may well explain a few things." Auron said and played back the sphere. Then we all braced ourselves for the images and the words it contained and will display.

 **AN: Phew! Another long chapter out! This is by far the longest ever, topping all other previous chapters I wrote. Kindly tell me if the length bothered you, or if it's ok. It didn't seem right to cut it into half since it might destroy the momentum, so I decided to just keep the length instead. Despite that, I hope you had fun reading this. Thanks for all the views, reviews, faves, and follows I received in response to this whole story! You guys rock! Oh, and if you want translations to the Al Bhed words on this chapter, there are online translators out there.**

 **Don't forget to share your thoughts about this chapter. What are the things you liked and didn't like? I'd love to hear what you guys think.**

 **Up next is Yuna's POV where she talks to Seymour. I know you know by now that I put my own spin to these chapters so I hope it would be a nice thing to look forward to. Anyway, have a nice weekend everyone! :)**


	23. A Lost Soul

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **AN: Hey, guys, I'm back! Did you think I was going to abandon this story? I'm so sorry if you did. To be honest, real life just got in the way. I already found a new job, and the transition has been hard. That explains why I was gone for almost two months. I could only write with the very little spare time I have left. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter and is worth the wait. I have no plans of abandoning this story, so please, no worries. I already have it all mapped out in my head. Just please be patient with me. I might update sporadically now, all because of my work. But if you are still interested in reading, cheers to you, my good friend! Anyway, on to the show! :)**

 **Chapter 23: A Lost Soul**

 _ **Yuna**_

I traveled to Macalania Temple on a chariot with Seymour's servant, Tromell Guado, though it was with a heart filled with worry and concern for my Guardians. They did their best to carve an open path for us in the middle of the surrounding Al Bhed's, still fighting to protect me even when faced with my decision to marry. No one expected that the Al Bhed's would strike again. It would seem that Uncle Cid really wanted something from me, going to the lengths of having his own men kidnap me, but I did not understand what he would want from the other Summoners as well. It would've been alright for me to go with the Al Bhed's to Uncle Cid's Home, but Bikanel was a long way away from Macalania, and the detour would keep me away from what I was planning for Seymour.

I let out a silent, heavy sigh as I made up my mind. I had to finish my business with Seymour first. Then maybe, I could attend to the mystery behind Uncle Cid's intentions.

"Lady Yuna, we are here." Tromell announced, jolting me awake from my deep thoughts. I guessed I was so wrapped up in them that I didn't notice that we had arrived.

"This way, my Lady. Our Lord Seymour is waiting." He told me, after helping me hop off from the chariot and leading me towards the stairs of Cloister of Trials. When we were by the stairs, he told me that my things would be waiting for me in the nun's quarters as soon as my talk with Seymour was done. Tromell bid me farewell then, and I climbed the stairs alone. When I entered through the entrance of the cloister, there was Seymour, standing with his back towards me and looking at the open doors of Macalania Temple's Trials. I looked farther beyond him and I saw a passageway built in ice.

"Lord Seymour." I called out to him and he looked back at me curiously.

"Please, just Seymour. There is no need for formalities between us." Seymour told me, beaming lightly. "I hope you don't mind. I thought to myself to solve the Trials for you, so we would have more time to talk inside the antechamber."

"It's fine. I thank you." I replied to him. And then he started leading me, crossing the passageway that was built in ice. Blue lines of glyphs were glowing on all the walls surrounding us, a reminder of the power of the Fayth of the Temple. Macalania's Fayth was a woman with an alto voice, and she was singing continuously, a soothing sound that was helping me steady my nerves. We entered through the antechamber; the doors closed automatically, and as soon as we were in the middle of the open area, Seymour turned to me to regard me.

"Well?"

I inconspicuously swallowed the lump on my throat, determined to keep a strong façade that would hide my nervousness. "I've come to answer your proposal." I told Seymour.

He nodded. "I see. And what might your answer be?"

"Yes. I'll accept your hand in marriage. Only in one condition." I said, putting a brave face as Seymour raised his eyebrow in interest. I knew that if he found any hesitation or weakness in my resolve, he could overpower me in an instant. "You will confess that you killed your father and surrender yourself under the Court of Bevelle."

As soon as the words went out from my mouth, Seymour laughed lightly and darkly. It was not what I anticipated. It was as if he was already half-expecting what I was going to propose to him, and he was just waiting for me to say it. "Ah, one of my little secrets. Though I would like to know how you've come to learn about that simple thing."

"It doesn't matter. My condition stands." I said defensively, hiding the fact that I had evidence for his crime. Seymour was not dull; if he was aware that someone knew about his secrets, I knew he would go after the evidence and destroy it as soon as he could.

He walked for a few paces, almost in a half-circle around me, and then he turned to me again. "Surrender? A creative touch. Do you even know what the Court of Bevelle does to murderers like me?"

His question hit me hard. I did not think about what would happen to Seymour should he ever surrender. Bevelle was always hard on crimes, and a murder of this degree would already warrant him a death penalty inside the inescapable Via Purifico. No, I wouldn't want that for him. "I would make a plea. If the court knew the reason why you killed your father, they would lighten your verdict. I have evidence to prove that."

"And have my past plastered on every headline of Spira Daily and Spira Spherecasts?" He shook his head in disgust at the mere idea.

"That would be part of the consequence." I told him nonchalantly.

"And if I refuse your condition?"

"I would bid you farewell, and we would never see each other again." I looked at him pointedly in the eyes, wanting to let him know that I was serious with my conditions.

Seymour looked back at me with a curious look, perhaps he was surprised with how our discussion began and with where it now stood. Or maybe he never thought of this to come from me. We stared at each other, never giving in. After what seemed like ten seconds, he looked away and laughed, clapping his hands in a slow rhythm. "Ah, the old man wouldn't just stay dead, would he? Even now his ghost still wants to torture me."

It took me a few seconds to realize what he was suddenly talking about. But as soon as I understood his words, I protested in defense. "It's not Lord Jyscal's fault! I know you hated your father for a good reason, but you didn't have to kill –"

"Do not speak as if you know everything! You would never understand!" Seymour shouted at me, his usual, soft, tenor voice transforming into a raspy, deep screech. When he noticed me recoil instantly, he paused, inhaled a breath, and shook his head. After a few moments, he was back to his normal and calm voice again."Of course, you would never understand. Kind, innocent Yuna – born from a mother who loved her, from a father who sacrificed his life to bring her the Calm, and adored by people of all races. You do not know what it's like to be hated, to be seen as the devil by everyone. My father was supposed to stand by us. Instead, he threw my mother and me in Baaj for the sake of him keeping his throne."

Seymour walked past me to stare at the lines of glyphs at the walls of the antechamber. He raised his hand to touch the glowing marks, becoming peculiarly interested in them and avoiding my gaze at the same time. "I wished for my death many many times on that island. In the end, death came, but it didn't take me. It took my sickly mother whom I loved. She suffered, but death released her, and her soul now protects me. When my father brought me back from Baaj, he was not the same strong and powerful man I once knew. No, he was broken, weak, and feeble. A far cry from who he once was. Even Guadosalam was crumbling under his neglect. I realized soon enough that he was suffering, shackled by the guilt that stemmed from his past decisions. So I let death make its claim on him to release him."

"Are you… are you saying you killed your own father out of love?" I asked Seymour, desperately trying to digest his words and read between his lines. It took a matter of time though for me to understand the hidden meaning.

He looked away from the lines of the glyphs and regarded me. "Love, compassion, mercy. You choose the word, I have no care. I did what I did to set my father free."

"That… that's just wrong, Seymour! No being in this world has a right to take away life from another even when you say you did it for the person's sake. It is not our call." I told him, surprised at his lack of empathy, emotions, and remorse. I simply couldn't understand how he was so convinced that what he did was the right thing.

Seymour only chuckled wryly at my words, as if he found my own opinion a child's pathetic try at philosophy."Then whose call is it? You judge me for not having the same morality as yours. But what is morality but a set of norms brought out to you by your own environment. Remember that I did not grow up the way that you had, Yuna. I spent ten years exiled on an island fighting to survive. There were no laws there, no government. But even in a society where there is one, do you think they can still heal what ails this world? When I was a child in Guadosalam, except for my mother's love, all I have known is hatred, cruelty, abuse, and disgust. And they will never go away. Do you remember the racial wars? Or even the machina wars that was a thousand years ago? Even without Sin, this world will continue to decay and wither on its own because of the evil and suffering that is in the hearts of people. Death is the only answer to free Spira and purify it once again."

After he said his piece, I now found it hard to believe that the Seymour who proposed me marriage days before in Guadosalam and the one before me was the same person. But wasn't this what I always wished to do ever since Lord Jyscal's sphere fell in to my lap? To be able to understand him and get through to his head that I now realized was filled with nihilism and to his heart that was buried underneath the rage and hurt? I fell silent as I formed the words that I hoped would help him and enlighten him.

"…You are right; I wouldn't know what it was like to be you. But my father taught me that there is good in all people, and the reason they do evil is that they did not know any better. You want to purge the evil out of Spira and free this world from its suffering, because you experienced it all firsthand. Seymour, that is a good intention, but death is not the answer. Purge the evil and suffering with goodness instead. You said the only love you knew was your mother's. Think of her. Would she want you to be this way? Wishing death on everyone? I may not know what happened to you in Baaj, Seymour, but one thing I'm certain is that she would want you to live your life with joy and love and goodness."

"…I wouldn't know what she wanted. She chose death to save me. I begged her many times to stay, but she wouldn't listen…" Seymour mumbled incoherently, turning his gaze back on the lines of glyphs on the wall beside him. "Why didn't she listen, Yuna? Why didn't she stay for me?"

"Maybe she did it out of love. Out of the goodness in her heart." I said to Seymour, hoping that he would hear me. What happened in Baaj with him and his mother was still a mystery to me, and I still did not know what to else to say to him to make him understand; only something tells me that what he experienced there was deeply traumatic for him. His eyes suddenly turned blank now, as if he was lost in a particular memory inside his head. But I knew he was still listening, so I moved closer to him and reached out for his hand, mindful of his sharp claws. He seemed shocked by the contact and recoiled at the touch at first, indicating to me that he was very unused to it. His hand became stiff, but my own two hands held his own.

For the first time ever since our talk, I realized I really wanted to touch his lost soul, to give him light in the place of darkness where I knew he was all alone. "Let me show you that there is still good in this world."

"I…" He looked down on my two hands that were holding his, as if it was the most foreign thing another person had done for him. And then he looked up to my face with confusion. For a moment he closed his eyes, perhaps wanting to regain composure and to draw himself away from his vulnerable state. After that, he looked at me again with eyes that now gained color and fixed his gaze on the door of the Chamber of Fayth. "Pray to the Fayth, Yuna. I will be here waiting. Then I will give you my answer."

xxxxx

Shiva was the name of the Fayth of Macalania Temple. She was a tall, beautiful woman. When I met her inside the chamber, she greeted me with her blue hair flowing freely from her head and her eyes shining with playfulness. She was the Ice Fayth, she said; and unlike the other Fayths who test the Summoners who would want to call the Fayths as their Aeons, she looked at me with concern instead. Perhaps she noticed my worried features, so she decided to ask me about it.

"I want to help a friend who is lost in darkness." I told her, trying not to say outright that it was Seymour who I was referring to. Seymour was the High Priest of Macalania Temple. It would not be uncommon for him to have constant communication with the temple's Fayth herself.

"Ah, what a gentle, kind heart you have, my dear. Only few would attempt such a thing." Shiva told me with a knowing smile. "Normally, to save a soul gone in the darkness is to brave the darkness in search of that soul itself. Take hold of that soul's hand and lead it to light. And never let go. For the moment that you do, the darkness will eat this soul's heart, and by then he will be too far gone to ever save."

"I…" I wanted to say something more to Shiva, but she raised her finger to her lips and signaled me to be silent. When I did, she smiled at me with mirth and suddenly disappeared into pyreflies that entered inside my body one by one. That was it. She was now part of me as an Aeon. This was the shortest prayer or encounter with the Fayth that I ever had.

I mulled over her words before motioning to open the chamber doors. It was a rather peculiar conversation, but I knew that what she said was true. If I ever wanted to continue saving Seymour, I had to find his soul underneath all the darkness surrounding and covering him, to lead him with my hand on his and never let go. I just wished I would have the strength to never let go.

I inhaled a deep breath before placing my hand on the doors of the Chamber of Fayth. When it opened, I saw Seymour, leaning on the side of the wall and playing with a small Fire that he constantly moved on the tips of his fingers. He stopped playing with Fire and looked up to me the instant he heard my footsteps.

"My answer is yes." He said to me with no hint of hesitation.

I could not believe my ears. I did not think it would be this easy, so I had to be sure."To everything? Even with my conditions?"

"Yes. But you need not make a plea bargain. If the Court of Bevelle wants my life, I will give it to them with no objection."

"But Seymour…" I wanted to argue. I would never wish death penalty on his life. That would defeat the purpose of wanting to save him.

Seymour raised his hand to stop my protest. "I do not wish to be put down with a scandal on my father's name. Perhaps that would be my condition, hmm?" He beamed at me lightly, his calm exterior like an armor. Yes, it was only right that he would have his own set of conditions as well.

"Is there anything else you'd like to discuss?" Seymour asked.

I hesitated on telling him, but he insisted and so I said timidly, "…I would like to continue my pilgrimage. A-After the marriage, if it would be alright."

"Of course. You would want to save Spira from Sin above all, and if I refuse you this thing, you would likely refuse the marriage as well. I had thought about it while you were still in the chamber. I will let you continue your pilgrimage, provided that you let me join you as your Guardian."

"I think... that would be fine. Thank you." I said to Seymour who nodded approvingly. It seemed like everything went according to my plans. I didn't think it would be this easy. But there was still one more thing that I wanted to ask to him. "Seymour, please do not be angry when I ask this…" I paused, gauging his reaction. His eyebrow raised and his hand gestured for me to continue. "Why me?"

"You meant to ask why I proposed to you?" He clarified, and I nodded in acknowledgement. "There are many reasons, Yuna. But let me start with the most recent one: you are still here."

"I don't think I understand." I admitted to him.

Seymour chuckled lightly, and I noticed that this time it sounded true and genuine instead of the ones before that sounded grim and sarcastic. "Tell me honestly, Yuna. When you learned what I had done to my father, what did you feel for me?"

"I… I wanted to know why you did it. To understand. To hear your side."

"Then let that be the reason." Seymour said with a smile.

"But you didn't know that. You didn't know how I would turn out."

"Perhaps. But the Guado have a keen sense of a person's character. A normal Guado would have this ability only to his fellow Guado. But I am a half-breed, the cross between Guado and Human. And so I sensed your character from the very first time I saw you." Seymour explained, and I realized now that it made sense. "One thing about me, Yuna, is that I am broken. There is no point in hiding it. You know my past. My soul is black, cracked, and damaged. But you are pure and whole, and maybe…" He trailed off, unsure of whether to continue saying his thoughts. After a few moments, he shook his head and smiled at me instead. "You haved asked me much today. May I request something from you now? Not as a part of the conditions, but a simple favor. It would be alright if you decline."

"W-What is it?" I asked, surprise and wonder suddenly marring my face.

"Will you… touch me again?" He asked, almost shyly, like a boy who was begging for a kiss from his mother.

"Oh, h-how do you want me to touch you?" I asked nervously and a bit flushed with embarrassment. It was a strange request, and truthfully, I never had men ask me to touch them. So, I did not know what to do.

He laughed freely then, a melodic sound that was pleasant to hear. I started to think that perhaps he should laugh more like this. "Do not fret, Yuna. I do not wish for anything obscene. Just like you did before. This way." He reached for my right hand and placed it on his left cheek, while covering it with his own left hand carefully, taking note of his claws. Then he closed his eyes and smiled at the contact, the veins on his forehead turning in a bit darker shade of blue. I did not know what it meant to Guados, but he seemed happy and content at that moment that I finally felt right with my decision.

"Your hand is warm. Like fire in the furnace in a night of blizzard." Seymour opened his purple eyes and looked at me then. My hand that was still cupping his cheek was held by his own. "You make me believe there is still good – "

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER, SEYMOUR!" I suddenly heard Tidus scream, the double doors of the antechamber opening wide. All six of my Guardians rushed in and were suddenly in front of Seymour and me with weapons drawn.

"Yunie, stay away from him!" Rikku shouted, poised and ready to fight.

"W-Why are you all here?" I asked them, confused at their unexpected appearance and their aggressive behavior. We had all agreed in Thunder Plains that I would meet and talk with Seymour alone first and that we would plan our next move from there.

"We saw the sphere. Seymour, you killed your own father! You are going to pay for your crime!" Sir Auron said, his broad katana resting threateningly on his shoulder.

"What of it? Yuna and I already discussed this. I agreed to surrender to the Court of Bevelle." Seymour said calmly, but his hand on mine gripped me hard. "Didn't I, Yuna?"

I tried not to wince at the pain of Seymour gripping my hand hard, as if it was his way of holding on to his sanity. "Y-Yes. Sir Auron, we just talked about it."

Auron looked at me with disbelief and disappointment, like a parent to a child. "And you believed him? Yuna, think clearly. Seymour has enough strength to overcome Via Purifico. What use will surrendering to the Court of Bevelle do to him? He is just pulling your strings, Yuna, to suit his own intentions. Do not be gullible!"

"Yeah, Yuna! Seymour is dangerous. Stay away from him!" Tidus chimed in.

"I…" I looked back at Sir Auron and to the rest of my Guardians with apparent confusion. Sir Auron had a point, but at this moment, I didn't know who to believe now. My heart was beating fast in fear and in bewilderedness. Despite my hesitation to believe Sir Auron, I turned to Seymour to gauge his reaction, but I didn't realize that I just made my biggest mistake by doing so.

Seymour turned his gaze toward me, so silent for a few seconds that I almost thought he was shocked with surprise by the words Sir Auron accused him of. He inhaled a breath while looking at me, and after a few moments, he only laughed dark and deep, like the howl of the wind before the start of what would be a very strong storm, not the melodic one he did a mere minute ago. "I knew it! It was too good to be true!" He looked at me with eyes that felt betrayed now. "You must have thought me so stupid to fall for your pretense. Seymour, believe in goodness. Seymour, death is not the answer." He mocked me, his purple eyes turning wild now, and his grip on my right hand squeezing tight, claws digging into my skin, consequently bleeding me. "Just one word from your Guardians, and you would never believe me –

"

"Seymour, I never told them anything! All that I said were tru –" I said in defense, but he cut me off.

"LIES! ALL LIES!" He screamed as he roughly pushed me towards where my Guardians were standing. It was a very forceful shove that I had thought I was going to fall on the floor if Wakka didn't catch me in time.

"What were you truly planning, Yuna? I thought you understood, but you are just like the rest of them! Vile and deceiving! Just as the rest of Spira is!" Then he took out his staff and twirled it preparing for a summon. "You wish for my blood, Guardians? Do not think it will be done easily. Come forth, Anima!"

"Seymour, listen to me, please!" I pleaded once more in desperation. This could not be happening. We just talked. I saw him smile as he accepted my proposal. I was close. I knew I was getting through him, that I saved him from the frayed ends of the rope his soul was hanging on. So I could not believe what was happening at all. I motioned towards Seymour again, pleading, but Sir Auron quickly took my arm and halted my steps. Anima already materialized before us. Her grotesque, corpse-like face was twisted in anger, the same as her master.

"Yuna, stop! Look at him! He will no longer listen no matter how hard you try." Sir Auron said, dragging me back to a safer distance, away from Seymour's hideous and hostile Aeon. The Warrior Monk turn to the rest of us and announced, "Everyone prepare to fight!"

"Seriously? But how do we fight THAT?" Tidus asked screaming as we all scattered into different directions, trying to dodge every blast of Pain that Anima, commanded by Seymour, aimed at us.

"Be calm! Remember all your Aeon fights with Yuna!" Sir Auron shouted to everyone, as he guarded me from Anima's Pain that almost hit both of us. "Tidus, Haste on everyone! Wakka, Silencestrike on Seymour! Both of you attack Seymour when you gain opening. Rikku and Yuna, you are our Healers. Potions and white magic on whoever is down! Kimahri, guard Lulu and attack when you are free! Lulu, keep casting Bio on Seymour! On your posts! I will take care of Anima!"

Everyone nodded as we all followed our battle orders from Sir Auron. For a few moments, his strategy worked. We noticed that Seymour was gradually weakening due to Lulu's Bio and elemental black magic. He also couldn't cast a black magic at us as he was silenced after Wakka kept hitting him with Silencestrike. Tidus took advantage of his Overdrive and sent out a barrage of Slice and Dice to Seymour. Sir Auron was alternating from guarding me and attacking Anima. Rikku and I were both mindful to heal anyone on our party who was hit by Anima's Pain. Kimahri was guarding Lulu so much, Anima's Pain couldn't touch them.

It looked like we were winning, but after a very hard hit of Slice and Dice to Seymour by Tidus, the Guado Maester only laughed horribly and wildly, reverberating loudly across the antechamber that it made us pause from our attacks. There was something different. Seymour's laugh this time was the kind that one only hears from a person caged in an asylum. "Ahh! Pitiful Guardians! Do you think you can defeat me!? No one can ever defeat me!" He raised his arms and Anima seemed to grow more stronger as he did so. "Show them your true power, Anima! OBLIVION!"

As soon as we heard the command, everyone fell to their knees as they were hit with successive blows of very powerful non-elemental damage from Anima. Every blast of Oblivion seemed to come from every direction. Sir Auron shielded me as best as he could with his Guard stance, but it was not enough defense for him to withstand Anima's attack. As soon as he took the hit for me, he too fell down and was thrown back unceremoniously a few yards from me; his katana was knocked over to the corner on our far right.

"Sir Auron!" I motioned towards him, but a blast of Anima's Pain directed to the ground near him stopped me.

Seymour then laughed darkly, mocking me for he knew he had me cornered. Between him and his powerful Anima, he knew I couldn't stand a chance, especially now that I was the only one left standing in my party. "Now, isn't this a good ending, Yuna? We are now back to where we started. Just you and me. Except now, of course, there's Anima. But don't mind her. She's just here to watch the outcome of all this fiasco between us today."

I bit my lip as Seymour said his words. In all of my training with Sir Auron, I already knew what Seymour was doing. He was goading me into being corroded by fear, into slowly losing my concentration and my critical thinking. It was psychological war at its finest.

I tried not to lose my levelheadedness and thought things through as fast as I could. If I could revive just one of my Guardians discreetly, it could trigger a chain effect of healing – with them healing one another and while I kept Seymour's attention. Inconspicuously, my hand motioned to revive the nearest person beside me. I aimed it at Sir Auron, but Seymour again commanded Anima to hit the ground that was separating Sir Auron and me with a blast of Pain. The Guado Maester noticed even the slight movement.

"Now, now. Don't play the game that way, Yuna. Didn't I say I want the ending to be just the two of us?" Seymour snickered. "So, let us play it this way. My terms now. Both of us are Summoners. So what do you say to a Summoner's duel? Unless, of course, you'd like the easy way out. I could end your life now with Anima's Oblivion, same as your Guardians. You choose."

Choosing the easy way out? I looked around at my Guardians and at how they fought so hard to protect me and get me this far. No, choosing to submit to Seymour just because I feared battling his powerful Aeon? No, I would never do that.

"My Guardians protected me. It's now my turn to protect them." I stood strongly, gripping my staff tightly. "If it is a duel you wish, then you will have it."

"A brave choice." Seymour stated, then for a moment his eyes suddenly became pensive. "Why didn't you choose to be brave for me, Yuna?"

"I did, Seymour. It was you who never believed me. And I realized now that you never will, even if our marriage were to take place. You will always doubt me, for your soul is already beyond saving." I answered him, head held high and drawing courage from the fact that I had to win this Summoner's duel for the sake of my Guardians.

"Ah, it comes down to this then. You say that there is still good in this world, but in the end, you will also be out for my blood." Seymour replied, hiding the unjustified hurt in his eyes. "Fine! Call your Aeon! I will show you how death feels!"

I thought hard on who to call as my Aeon for the Summoner's duel between me and Seymour. This choice could mean life or death for me and the rest of my party. I felt Ifrit stirring inside of me, hellfire surging with rage at what has happened in this Temple, not even hiding the profane words he had for Seymour. On the other hand, Valefor and Ixion were urging me to flee, the former suggesting a flight by air, while the latter suggested to take me and run as far as the lands could take me. It was Shiva's soft female voice that caught my attention. "Choose me." She said. And I knew right then that this new Aeon was the right one to Summon.

"Shiva!" I called out and twirled my staff. The beautiful, tall, blue lady Aeon then materialized in the air before me through an ice boulder that broke into a thousand pieces and showered me with snowflakes. Afterwards, she was standing proudly in front of me, almost swaying happily to an unknown rhythm.

"Anima, Pain!" Seymour wasted no time in commanding his Anima. In turn, I commanded Shiva to shield herself.

After a few more blasts of Anima's Pain, Shiva unshielded herself and started evading. I realized now that she was the most agile Aeon I ever had. In between evading, I commanded Shiva to continue attacking Anima and to hit the corpse Aeon with Blizzaga, freezing Anima to a standstill and blinding her one opened eye. Anima then turned Overdrive and cast Oblivion, her multiple non-elemental magic cast on every side that was effective even when she was blinded. I ordered Shiva to shield instantly and she moved in front of me to guard me, but even in a defensive mode, Anima's Oblivion still made heavy damage on Shiva, depleting three-fourths of her health.

In heaving breaths, Shiva then turned to me and whispered in her soft Fayth voice to let her cast Blizzaga on herself. I ordered her to, and her health replenished itself immediately. Then Shiva gained Overdrive, and I commanded her to do Diamond Dust. As soon as she heard the command, unstoppable strong gusts of blizzard rampaged inside the antechamber and all of them were aimed at Anima and Seymour. Afterwards, Anima and Seymour were locked in thick boulders of ice from top to bottom. Shiva looked at me with mirth, and with a snap of her fingers, the ice broke into a million spiky shards, each attacking Anima and Seymour.

In no less than a second, Anima gave a loud cry and vanished into pyreflies. Seymour fell down on his back with a few of his own pyreflies circling around him, indicating that he was now very weak and near death. I took this moment to give a sigh of relief that I survived the duel and defeated Seymour. Shiva beamed at me, and I smiled at her, thankful for her strength and abilities as an Aeon. Then, I walked to my Guardians, reviving them with the white magic, Life, one by one.

"Geez! My head hurts!" Tidus whined, as he got up on his feet and helped Wakka who was slumped on his right. "You okay, Wakka?"

"Not at all. Feels like I got trampled on by a thousand shoopufs and then got hit by a million blitzballs, ya?" Wakka answered Tidus.

"That really is what non-elemental magic does. Just… pain..." Lulu added, though her voice did seem strained and exhausted.

"H-Hey! What happened to Seymour and his scary Aeon?" Tidus looked at me and asked me.

"Maybe our Summoner could answer that for us." Sir Auron chimed in, nursing his neck which I believe was hurting as well. All of my Guardians then looked at me with interest. I knew they wanted to know everything that happened before they all passed out.

"When all of you were knocked out by Anima's Oblivion… I was the only one left. Seymour asked for a Summoner's duel… and I defeated him… with the new Aeon." I told them, feeling a bit sheepish. It was not through my abilities as a Summoner that I defeated Seymour. It was because of Shiva herself. But all my Guardians were already cheering for my win.

"Way to go, Yunie!" Rikku shouted and bounced in joy.

"Kimahri commends Yuna. Strong warrior." Kimahri nodded.

"Yeah, you sure showed that psychotic bastard!" Tidus added.

I should've been happy that I won against Seymour. But all I felt like was as if I was stabbed in the chest.

Of course. They didn't know what happened between me and Seymour before they arrived and how I felt compassion for his lost soul. And as I looked at the Guado Maester, lying on the ground weak and near death, I still felt the same.

Sir Auron walked towards Seymour to examine his body. The number of pyreflies circling the Guado Maester had now grown more in numbers than before. Seymour was really dying. And I didn't know what else to do with him.

"Yuna, send him." Sir Auron's words pierced the silence that filled the antechamber.

"What? Send him? That would kill him. And t-that would mean we killed him, ya? What would happen then? Bevelle and Guadosalam would be after us, not to mention, the whole of Yevon!" Wakka stammered in fear.

"He's already dying. What do you wish to do? Revive him, and have us fight him again in the future? Think! Do you think he'll just let us off without another fight?" Sir Auron answered Wakka tersely. The Warrior Monk turned to me again and commanded, "Yuna, send him now."

"I…" I looked at Seymour and fought hard to obey Sir Auron's orders. I gripped my staff and prepared for a sending dance, but there was something about Seymour's vacant face that made me hesitate. No, I didn't want to kill Seymour. This was not what I had planned at all. It was never my intention to kill Seymour.

But it was in this moment of hesitation that the doors of the antechamber opened wide again and Tromell and his Guado guards came in. They saw Seymour's dying body on the floor, went over his side, and formed their own conclusions.

"You did this?" Tromell looked at us as if he caught murderers red-handed.

"Wait. It's not our fault! It was Seymour who struck first and –" Tidus tried to say in defense, but Tromell cut him off.

"No! No excuses! Stay away from him, you traitors!" Tromell ordered us, and his Guado guards were poised to fight as soon as they could. Tromell then picked up Seymour's body and handed it to his Guado guards. "We'll see what Bevelle and Guadosalam think of this!"

"W-What? We're doomed, ya!" Wakka said, hands raised to his head.

"N-No! Please give us a chance to explain. Seymour killed his own father. I came here to talk to him about surrendering. And then he attacked us… w-we have evidence! There's a sphere from Lord Jyscal!" I said to Tromell, desperately trying to make him understand our side. But I should've known that it was useless. Tromell looked at me with disgust and malice in his eyes.

"You mean this?" Tromell raised his hand to show us that he had Jyscal's sphere with him. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he threw it to the ground, causing the sphere to shatter into a thousand pieces. Our evidence gone, just like that.

"And are you not letting us through?" Sir Auron asked calmly, but his voice was already laced with threat. Tromell just dismissed it nonchalantly.

"Let you through? Lord Seymour would never forgive us." Tromell answered, his smile turning wicked now.

"Very well." Sir Auron answered, carelessly bouncing his broad katana on his shoulder. He looked at Kimahri who nodded to him. Then, within a second, both of them ran fast and swung their weapons at the four Guado guards standing in front of the antechamber's double doors. "Come on!" Sir Auron shouted, as soon as he knocked down two of the Guado guards. "We cut through!"

"I - I can't believe this!" Wakka exclaimed in worry, but Rikku stood by him and placed a hand on his arm.

"Just trust Auron and Kimahri." Rikku said in assurance, and Wakka nodded grudgingly.

"Yuna, let's go!" Tidus shouted and took hold of my hand. We ran to the path Sir Auron and Kimahri was carving for us, despite the blockades of Guado guards on every door. When we reached the final door of the Cloister of Trials where the entrance stairs were located, I heard Tromell give a terrifying screech.

"You will all pay for this!" He said.

I knew right then that all of what happened in Macalania Temple from this day on will haunt us and catch up to us at some point, even if we were to try our best to run from it.

 **AN: So what do you think of this chapter? Drop a review and let me know. I always wanted to give Seymour's character some depth and substance. In the game, it just looked like he was a psychopath for no reason at all. Anyhow, feel free to share your thoughts. And of course, what did you think about Yuna? I'm open to hear your reactions. Anyway, up next is a Auron POV which includes an encounter with an old friend. That's already the hint. Stay tuned for more! :)**


	24. The Blood Covenant

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **AN: Alright, guys, I'm back again. Apologies for the long break in posting. As you know, real life can be demanding at times. But well, I made a new year's resolution that if I wanted to finish this story, I have to make time for it. So yeah, I hoped it would not take me three months to be able to post again. But as I said before, I plan to finish this, so cheers to you good friends if you are still with me! Hooray! Happy New Year too! On to the show!**

 **Chapter 24: The Blood Covenant**

 _ **Auron**_

We ran and ran, Kimahri and I leading our party and knocking down all the Guado guards that blocked our way out of Macalania Temple premises. Tidus and Wakka were at the back, mindful of the Guado guards and their fiends that may catch up on us, defending us from any artillery shot they might throw at us. Rikku held Yuna's hand, imposing on her to keep up a fast pace despite her being unaccustomed to it. The phrase being on the run for our lives was an understatement. If the Guado caught us, we might as well be better off dead. The rumors of what the Guado do to their prisoners were something I didn't want to experience.

We reached the Pilgrim's Path of the Lake Macalania. Though we were in a hurry, we carefully tread through the narrow path, mindful that slipping equaled to death all the same. Lulu was the most beneficial to us in this. She made a blockade of Blizzara to hinder the Guados from the Macalania Temple from following us. It bought us the time we needed to cross the narrow, icy road. When we reached the wide open space of Lake Macalania, it was another matter though. Ten Guado guards greeted us, together with a Wendigo. The Guado sure acted quickly. I halted our party's steps, thinking on how we'll launch our attack, while we were still hidden by the sublevel, icy crevasse of the Pilgrim's Path.

"Uhh, what now, Boss?" Rikku voiced out her worry as she ducked nearby me. I had a feeling all the other members of my Summoner's party felt the same as well.

"We need to disappear." I murmured, unsure of why I thought out loud. Lake Macalania's open space is an empty lake. It was just a sheet of ice that had crossed over to the other side due to immense cold. Underneath was a lake that had gone dry ages ago. Falling into the bottom would be hard, but it would be a good way to mask our deaths. That will surely buy us time to travel… somewhere far from those who wish for our heads. The only problem was ensuring our safe landing.

"Oh? Disappear as in _disappear_?" Rikku smiled a little though a hint of worry still reflected in her eyes.

I nodded to the little thief, wondering how she could think how I think in such a short amount of time; the others did not understand though and I knew I had to elaborate for them. "Should we defeat them all, the fact remains that we'll have to cross Macalania Woods to head for Calm Lands which is the safest location for us to regroup. Guados will keep on chasing us. We have to fake our deaths for the meantime, or at least disappear without enough trace for them to catch us."

"By falling to the bottom of the lake? That's crazy, ya! How can we survive that?" Wakka asked. And it was a good question.

"Valefor. She can swoop down in time to catch us." Yuna answered luckily. It was a good plan. I nodded in approval to Yuna's words.

"Alright. Valefor catches us all alive to the bottom of the lake. How do we go where we need to go from there, ya?" Wakka asked, another valid question. The red-head was not as obtuse as I thought he was. The question though was one that I was not sure how to answer except for the stories I knew and heard about Spira in my childhood.

"Cave tunnels." Kimahri spoke, so suddenly that it surprised even me. "Ronso spoke tunnels deep in Macalania. Spread underneath Calm Lands, as far as Gagazet's hidden roads. Ronso's secret in war. Hundreds of years before age of ice in Mid-Spira."

"Right on! I've never gone spelunking. Well, I'm in! Better than endless running and fighting, you know?" Tidus chimed in, though I was not sure if it was just because of having an adventure ahead of him.

"Does that assure you, Wakka?" I asked the red-head.

"Better than endless running, eh. Sure hope you guys know where the way is." Wakka shrugged.

"Alright, it is settled. Rikku, I'm sure you know what to do with the Wendigo. I'll be with you just in case. Kimahri, take the four Guados on the right. Wakka and Tidus, I'll leave the six on the left to you. We must incapacitate them before the ice sheet crumbles. Lulu, you'll have to protect Yuna. Yuna, be on the center; Shell and Protect to everyone. Do not summon Valefor until the right time. Everything clear?" I told my Summoner's party. It was not a fool-proof plan. I knew at some point something will go wrong. I just couldn't think of other contingencies right now. It was all I had.

"This is the craziest thing I'll ever do in my entire life." Wakka nodded, but I knew his nerves were wracking him.

"One of the many firsts if we'll survive this." Lulu affirmed. Kimahri grunted in agreement.

"On my signal." I told everyone. They all inhaled a breath in anticipation. I counted silently. One. Two. Three. "Go!"

We all charged to the Guado guards that were in front of us. Yuna ran to the center to cast Shell and Protect to everyone. Rikku and I headed to the Wendigo, with her occupying the fiend's attention ensuring that it smashed the thick ice sheet around us bit by bit. Kimhari swiftly rushed to the right flank, knocking down one by one the four Guado guards stationed there and that were caught off-guard. Tidus and Wakka did the same to the six that was on the left. Lulu was in defense, casting black magic as support to our three front-line attackers.

Out of its frustration of not being able to hit the evading Rikku, the Wendigo went into Berserk mode. It smashed the ice sheet even more powerful than before. The ice sheet started cracking and crumbling. After one more powerful smash, it caved in. Before we were in complete freefall, I went after the Wendigo and unleashed my Overdrive, Shooting Star, to push it back to the far north. It would not do to have a fiend accompany us to the bottom of the dried lake.

After seven seconds of freefall, Valefor appeared out of nowhere. The heavy flap of its wings reverberating in my ears. One by one he swooped by us, and we took hold of her hook-like limbs to stop our freefall. I didn't ask if she could carry seven, fully-grown adults. But it was a worry that slipped from my head as I grabbed its right leg in the middle of my fall. The bottom of the lake was very deep, but Valefor was strong, I reminded myself, provided that nothing interrupted her seamless flight.

Which was not always the case when fighting enemies. A desperate Guado, who by luck knew black magic, fired a Firaga to the flying Aeon as it was carrying us. The black magic hit Valefor's wings, and the Aeon became unbalanced in its flight. Yuna fell from the Aeon's grasp, and she would die if no one was going to come after her. Knowing this, I let go of Valefor's right leg and went after Yuna. It might have been, thirty feet or a hundred feet, I wasn't sure now. All I knew was that I had to reach her, to protect Yuna and cushion her fall.

Time must have slowed down – I didn't know – but I was able to grab Yuna's body and brace for the impact that was sure to come. I hit the ground first with Yuna sprawled on top of me. That in itself was a success. However, the pain was immediate, sharp, and immense all over my body; bones broken, muscles torn and bruised, and head in concussion. It will knit itself in time, I knew I could. But it was Rikku's scream for my name that resounded in my ears before my consciousness faded away.

xxxxx

"Is he alive?" A boy's voice said. It was a familiar tenor one. I knew this voice, something I have heard for the past ten years. But I couldn't put my finger on it. Who was he?

"Of course, he is, moron! He's breathing..." This was a girl this time. Hers was melodic, though it was undoubtedly laced with concern. "But the pyreflies…"

"We did give him some Al Bhed potion in time, ya?" Another boy with a deeper voice asked this time. "I mean, that works as well as a Summoner's healing, right? Right?"

"Do you think he'll still be the same? I mean, I dunno, not end up as a cripple? The fall was like more than fifty feet." The first boy from before said. Cripple? That was a good question. Have I made myself a cripple? Were there any crippled Unsents at all?

"He's alive and he will still be the same! Or else, he's nothing but an idiot. It was his idea after all, and if it backfired on him, I'm totally gonna say that he sucks and… and..." The girl with the melodic voice said, but paused to stop a quiet sob.

"Auron alive. Yuna alive. Both strong but need rest." Someone half-growled and half-grunted. This was a Ronso's voice. I remembered. It spoke softly in the distance. Afterwards, there was nothing but silence at first, but then I heard a shuffling of feet. They were leaving, or giving me distance.

Then soft footsteps walked towards me. I felt warmth suddenly, a sign that someone was next to me. The presence knelt beside me and sat me up despite the pain that shot throughout my body. I felt anger rising inside of me. Who was this creature who thought he had the right to… Didn't he know that I could change into something that would kill him? In fact, he was making me want to...

"You are Auron. Guardian of Braska. Friend of Jecht. You brought Calm before. And you will do so again. Now you are Guardian to Yuna. Tidus' father figure. This Summoner Party's leader. You made promises. You are going to keep them. Pull yourself together, Unsent. If you transform, I will kill you. But remember that you are Auron." The Ronso said to my ear in his native tongue. It was both a plea and a warning. He knew what I was, and he would not forget to take a precaution. But his words were enough to trigger a surge of memories in my mind.

Auron. Yes, my name was Auron. Still Auron. My limbs were human's, not that of a fiend's. I just had to pull my pyreflies, he said, command them at my will. Then I will be Auron completely, and I could come back to them. To them? Who were they that I desperately wished to be with them?

Tidus. Yuna. Wakka. Lulu. Kimahri. And Rikku.

My Summoner Party.

I remembered them now. Their voices. Their laughter. Their smiles. I could come back to them, not as a fiend, but as Auron. Yes, as Auron. With all my strength and will, I gathered with determination the pyreflies that were circling in my body. This was not my end. No, Auron had promises to keep. He will keep them. I will keep them. I willed my body knitted itself one by one: joints that were displaced, bones that were fractured, muscle that were torn, all of them started to heal themselves.

When it was through, I opened my eyes to see a blue Ronso staring back at me. "Keep away your spear, Ronso." I said to him in his native language. "I am Auron."

He smiled a smile that showed his fangs. "Of course. I just wanted to be sure." He said, keeping the native language. "Rest, Auron."

I nodded, suddenly feeling tired from the exertion and effort I did to knit my injuries myself. The rest would no doubt wonder how I suddenly healed. Maybe I could tell them that I was a Legendary Guardian as an excuse. I seemed to get away with it most of the time.

xxxxx

"...So, the baby centipede came to ask his dad, 'Dad, could you buy me some shoes?' Of course, the Daddy centipede didn't want to. Do you know what the Daddy centipede said to his baby centipede? 'Do you want me to kick your ass?' Haha! Get it?" She said to me. I could hear her now as my consciousness came back to me. I knew who she was. Rikku. The bright, sunny, slip of a girl who always wanted to make everyone laugh. And I was not an exception to her. No, even in my rest and injuries and supposedly coma, she still wanted me to laugh.

"Well, maybe not. You're a bit slow when it comes to jokes, sometimes..." Rikku said. A bit slow? When did I give that impression? She clapped her hands once, ready to start another joke. "Ok. This one's easier to figure out. A Chef and a Salad were friends. Then one day, upon seeing Salad, the Chef became embarrassed. Do you know why? Because –"

" – The Chef saw the Salad dressing…" I managed to blurt out before she could hit the punch line. Yes, my eyes were open now. She looked at me with shock all over her face. Then within seconds, her shocked face changed to a smile. A smile that warmed my heart for some reason I could not comprehend.

"You're… you're awake." She stated rather obviously. Normally, she was not this obtuse. But I guessed her worry ran deep, so much that she felt relieved.

"I am, yes." I tried to sit up, and she helped me lean on the make-shift pillow of bags placed north of my head.

"You are an idiot, you know." She said to me, awkwardly brushing a tear that formed in her right eye. I didn't know why she was so worried for me. I ignored the action to avoid the conversation or embarrassing her.

"Me? I managed to answer your riddle joke." I told her lightly.

"Not that, you dummy." She punched my arm. "Falling after Yunie. Making sure you hit the ground to cushion her fall. That was… so you."

"I still would have done it if it were you, Rikku."

"I know, _eteud_. You maybe legendary, but you are not unbreakable. There's got to be some limits."

"Not when lives are at stake." I told her firmly. Would she ever understand? There had already been too many deaths, too much blood in my hands. Those that resulted to my inaction and incompetence. I didn't want to delve further. Instead, I redirected our conversation to a safer place. Yuna. Yes, she had to be alive, or else all the pain I experienced the past hours would have been nothing. "Yuna?"

"Awake and alive. Thanks to you. She just checked up on your wounds a few hours ago. I didn't know how many Al Bhed potions we doused on you in our panic, but it seemed to have done the trick."

"How long has it been since we were here?'

"Two days." Rikku said.

Two days? No. They had to move quickly, or else Guadosalam's forces will be ahead of them. They cannot linger here much longer. Their finely crafted 'disappearance' bought them time, but staying here without movement at all would be detrimental to their not being detected.

"Take me to Yuna." I said to Rikku.

"But you have to rest." She insisted.

"It will take another day for me to be in full health, but I can walk, Rikku. Enough to get us moving."

To my surprise, Rikku didn't say another word and helped me up to my feet instead. All my limbs felt new to me, as if they had no strength at all. But I could walk fine, which was sufficient. I doubted I could defend myself properly if needed be though. The rest of the party was gathered on the east of where I laid resting. When I reached them, accompanied by Rikku, they all stood up from where they were sitting. Afterwards, it was Tidus who spoke first amidst their silent acknowledgement.

"Hey, old man. You okay?" Tidus asked gently. Just like the time when we were in Zanarkand and he would ask if I was okay, when thoughts and memories of my pilgrimage with Braska and Jecht cloud my head and pull me in an almost catatonic state. I nodded to him and gave him a small smile.

I looked to the left and saw Kimahri watching me. I wouldn't have recovered immediately if not for his knowledge of an Unsent's body. I walked towards him, patted his shoulder as thanks, and settled to lean on the rocky wall behind him.

"Sir Auron…" Yuna started a little bit shyly, but she looked at me with her mismatched eyes sincerely. "I thank you for saving my life."

"I made an oath to you and your father. I intend to keep it." I told her, assuring her of my allegiance to her despite the events that happened due to her lack of judgment. It would not do to blame her on this anymore. Best to set our eyes on the plan instead. "Have you all made a decision on where we are headed?"

"Uhh, not yet, Sir Auron. Yuna was just telling us about her thoughts on what happened." Wakka answered.

"As I had told them, Sir Auron. I wanted to meet with Maester Seymour to confront him about Lord Jyscal. I wanted to propose to him to hand himself over to the Court of Bevelle." Yuna recounted.

"In exchange of marriage?" Lulu asked.

"Yes. I didn't think he'd –"

"Yes, that is the point, Yuna, you didn't think!" I suddenly said out loud without a worry of hurting Yuna's feelings. The Summoner recoiled at my raised, gruff voice, but I did not feel any remorse. She should know by now the consequences of her actions. A pilgrimage was no child's game. Dangling yourself in front of a monster for a whim of wanting to change said monster was not becoming of a wise Summoner, let alone an adult. And wasn't that what I always wished for her? To be an adult? "Enough talk now. Dwelling in the past is futile!"

"Hey!" Rikku responded quickly in defense against my callous remarks towards Yuna.

"What? You want to listen to her rant all day about her regrets? It is pointless and useless." I told Rikku and indirectly hinting at Yuna as well, not even mindful of how my temper was rising. I didn't like both their dispositions at all. We all had to be strong, and for Yuna to be strong as well, she would have to let go of her childish ways. That includes feeling sorry for one's self and mistakes.

"But you didn't have to say it like that, you Big Meanie!" Rikku answered back, stomping her foot on the ground grudgingly. The warmth she openly displayed to me moments ago now disappeared amidst her defense for Yuna. "You could be more comforting, you know!"

I sighed, knowing Rikku was right. I suddenly remembered Tidus saying that if I wanted to fix my estranged relationship with Yuna, I should talk to her more as friends would. Without the expectations I had for her as a Summoner. I exhaled a breath, releasing the anger Yuna did not deserve, and started again. "Yuna, you should know that no matter how much kindness you show, there will always be someone who is too far gone to save."

"…But Seymour listened to me at first, when we were still alone in the antechamber." Yuna said with anxiety, a bit startled at how gentle my voice came out this time. I felt a stab at my heart knowing she only expected contempt from me because of our present situation.

"Then we came, and he couldn't trust your word anymore. If he did listen to you and accepted what was going on – marrying you still – how long would it take for him to doubt you again?" I asked our Summoner.

"I… I wouldn't know." Yuna shook her head.

"Not very long, I tell you. Seymour… is someone who spent a long time in darkness alone. No one can endure staring in the darkness for a very long time with their soul still intact. His is already broken beyond repair."

"…I-I'm so sorry. I should've known. I should've told everyone what I was going to do – if I had, then maybe –" Yuna said, her voice trembling and tears already flowing from her eyes. I moved closer to her to put both of my hands on her shoulders.

"Yuna, do not be sorry for being what you naturally are. You see good in people when others could not. It is just as what Braska would have done, if he were in your place. For what it's worth, it is I… who should be sorry, if I ever gave you reasons not to trust me." I told her, wanting to win back her trust.

"N-No! Sir Auron… you've been nothing but good to us."

"Then trust me. If you could not, trust your other Guardians." I told Yuna softly. The Summoner then looked at all of her Guardians who all gave her a nod and an approving look.

"Yeah, Yuna, we're always here to protect you, ya? You can always tell us anything." Wakka added with a smile.

"From now on, no more secrets, hmm?" Lulu said, standing on Yuna's side and brushing her hair.

"I promise." Yuna said, the steadiness in her voice finally coming back.

"So… uhh… what now?" Tidus ask, breaking the relief that surrounded the air and forcing us to think of the consequences of our past actions.

"Let our Summoner decide. Yuna, do you still wish to continue the pilgrimage?" I asked the young Summoner before us.

"I do. But if the rest of Yevon already branded us as traitors for what we did, I do not know how it would be possible." She said with worry.

"It is the Fayth themselves that gives us the Aeons to summon. Not Yevon." I stated to everyone, letting them know that it was not Yevon who determines the fate of the Summoner but the Fayth themselves.

"W-Wait, are you saying we bust through the doors of every Temple of Fayth? That can't be right, ya?" Wakka said nervously.

"If that is what we have to do –" I tried to say with conviction, but Yuna cut me off gently.

"Let us go to Bevelle. We must speak with Maester Mika. He must know what truly happened. When he hears our side, Yevon will reconsider. Then, we might be able to have his grace."

I bit my lip at Yuna's suggestion. Of course, Yuna didn't know how corrupt Yevon was, even to the highest ranks. Going to Mika would do nothing but convict us unjustly to a crime we did not commit if it meant us exposing their heinous secrets. Going to Bevelle was suicide.

But this was not my pilgrimage. My sole duty was to protect the Summoner; the decisions on the paths we take still lay with Yuna. I exhaled a breath. We could go through the cave tunnels now and end up at the bottom of the cliffs of Calm Lands. From there we could climb the cliff stairs, go to Gagazet, and then to Zanarkand Dome, so I could show them the lie of the pilgrimage. But Yuna wished for a talk with Mika, to defend herself amidst a biased court. She wanted a due process, even when law would not be by her side. By Guardian Code, I had no right to stop her.

"So be it." I told everyone with a heavy heart that I did not show.

It was only by luck that a divine intervention showed up and thwarted this suicide plan. The dried, empty canyon we were in shook with force. A loud, deep moan resounded against the walls.

"How did–? Sin!" Tidus screamed, recognizing a silhouette as boulders started to fall from the cliffs above us.

"Take cover! Beyond the walls is the deep sea of Calm Lands; he must be resting there." Wakka screamed back to Tidus.

We were being sucked into a vacuum. The rest of my party probably feared for their lives. But I… I felt like I was coming home after a far, long journey. It was time to meet my old friend after ten years, I supposed. Who wouldn't be glad about it?

xxxxx

It was the Zanarkand High Central Park. A familiar sight with lights that were bright on every post, blue and white that was sparkling on artificially created trees with benches underneath them, typical in most Zanarkand parks. But what distinguished it the most was the stretched platform that overlooked the city below. This gave the viewer the sense of awe and power. Imagine looking that far out to a machina city, enough to feel its very heartbeat, its minute whispers, and its every gear moving. When I first came to dream Zanarkand, this was the first place I asked about, aside from the Zanarkand Blitzball Arena.

He told me that that was his favorite spot since he was a child – a young boy who wished to escape the worries and sadness brought about by an abusive, drunken father – an irony that he himself became. He told me he would sit in a lotus position at the very end of the platform and hum the hymn his mother used to sang him to sleep. Then he would dream, of ways to escape poverty in a city that thrived with wealth. This was where he told himself he would be a Blitzball star, obsessed in the only thing he knew he was good at, as if the screams of his fans could block every abuse his father threw at him. True enough, his adoring fans helped relieve him of the memories he didn't wish to dwell. But all the same, history repeated itself. And his son no doubt became obsessed as well in Blitzball to disprove every insult that he himself, drunk and careless, threw.

He was already standing at the middle of the platform, arms folded and waiting. I walked over to him feeling glad that in this dimension, the soreness of my newly knitted body didn't materialize. When I was a few feet from him, I looked him up from head to toe and back. Jecht. Not a bit of him changed. Arrogant and smug, he smiled at me; as if it was just yesterday that we just saw each other.

But no. It had been ten years, to be exact.

"It's good… to see you again in person." I said to Jecht, glad that he was right before me. We locked our eyes in a stare, determined not to look away. We lasted for a good twenty seconds, then he burst out laughing, as if I made a joke that would make even a Spiran sailor blush.

"Well, to me it ain't. You're a sight for sore eyes. Haven't I gone and told you have more gray hair than usual, monk?" He mocked in his high and mighty tone. This was Jecht alright. Trust that an encounter with him will never come without an insult.

"I might have missed it… intentionally." I brushed the thought aside. I was never conscious of the graying hair on my head.

"Heh, well you look like an overgrown skunk! Never heard of hair dyes, old man?" He continued, and I knew he will send out a barrage of insults if I didn't stop him.

"Jecht…" I warned softly.

" You're looking older by the minute. No wonder you can never score chicks."

"Jecht." Now that was getting a bit on my nerves.

"Just what did that hot priest's daughter see in you? Good thing, you dumped her. But hey, who's laughin' now? If I were the priest's daughter, I would. Who knew that ten years from now, you'd be looking like shit—"

" _Jecht!_ " I shouted just to call his attention. He laughed again merrily at my expense. He had me just where he wanted me to be: all riled up for his fun.

"Alright, alright. No time to waste babbling—geez, I can't believe you still have a stick up in your ass after all these years."

"Hmph."

"Anyway, back to business." He coughed, a habit of his that showed that he was now serious. There were pressing matters that we needed to talk about after all. And this may be the only chance I get to speak to him.

"How long?" I asked rather subtly. I knew he knew what I meant. How long until he loses control to Yu Yevon? How long until every bit of himself gets absorbed by Sin as the core of the Guardian Fayth?

"Can't say. A month or two."

"You know they are still not ready. They need more time."

"I know, I know. I'm trying, Auron, but I'm already blackin' out—havin' lapses in my memory, and it isn't as easy controllin' it as it were ten years ago. And then that Yu Yevon bastard…" He trailed off, not wanting to finish his sentence. I noticed now that his North Zanarkand accent prominently showed itself when he was worried.

"Hold on, Jecht. We'll come and save you." I told him. We both knew they were empty words, but that didn't mean they were not sincere.

"Hell knows I don't need no saving. Just… stop me, Auron. Promise me, you and the little runt. Please, stop me." He pleaded, a rare tone of voice escaping from his vocal chords. It made me want to run through this extra-dimension of Sin he conjured and just find Yu Yevon and kill him. It made me want, but the far truth was that I could never do that.

"You have my word." I told him, the best way I could to give him comfort.

"Whatever it takes?"

"Whatever it takes."

Jecht lightly smiled but sighed heavily and wiped his face with the palm of his hands afterwards. It had been ten years since I last saw him. I remembered it was the night when I was in Calm Lands' cliffs and I came face to face with him as Sin for the second time. He drew me in in an extra-dimension the same as this. No, it never changed at all. It was the same Zanarkand High Central Park, the cityscape as his surroundings, as if it was his way of holding on to his mind and fortifying it against Yu Yevon's assault. He told me he discovered a way to access dream Zanarkand. I went along with him instantly without hesitation. I remembered his face back then, not a day over forty, but fit as a Zanarkand Blitzball Captain ever was. As I looked at him now, I realized that that too never changed.

He never grew old. While I, well… my pyreflies seemed to react to reflect my appearance just as how my age would show. I was not vain to bother myself with it. But it did make me wonder how my pyreflies reacted this way? Was it just my own subconscious commanding them? Telling them to look my age, as if I was still alive to be so. I shook my head to clear my head from these thoughts. Jecht was in front of me, and I wanted to share many stories with him.

"Do you think you can still keep the dimension rift intact for a few more minutes?" I asked Jecht, and he turned around to regard me.

"Yeah, 'course. Something on your mind?"

"I'd like to show you something. Well… many things." I told him, drawing out a few of my memories into pyreflies. I maneuvered the first memory I wanted him to see. It was of Tidus doing his Slice and Dice move to Seymour and knocking the Guado down while evading a blast of Pain from Anima. It was a highly skilled show of his fighting abilities, a mark of how far he had already gone since he started training with me. Jecht went wide-eyed in surprise. I knew then that he didn't expect Tidus to become this strong now.

"Is this… him? The little runt?" Jecht asked, probably wondering if his eyes were deceiving him.

"Tidus. Yes. And I believe you'd agree with me that he's not a little runt anymore."

"Ha! He'll always be a little kid to me." Jecht said nonchalantly, but his eyes shone with pride, something I had never seen from him before. "My little runt."

Then I maneuvered another memory contained in a pyrefly to him. He smiled immediately the moment he saw the image.

"She's as beautiful as I remembered her. Just as how I thought she would be." Jecht said instantly, looking at the image. "Braska would be proud."

"Yes, Braska would be. Did you know she defeated a very powerful Summoner in a duel recently?" I informed him.

"Well, I'll be damned." Jecht whistled approvingly. "Was it that freaky, blue-haired Guado the little runt was attacking earlier?"

"Yes."

Jecht burst out a laugh and slowly clapped his hands. "Knew she'd grow up to be a lady not to be messed with. Ah, our little Yuna!"

"He is something to be mindful of though." I said to Jecht, wanting him to know of the potential trouble I was seeing in the future.

"Who?" Jecht scratched his head, just the way he used to in our pilgrimage when he found something confusing.

"The Blue-haired Guado. We killed him, but he may have become an unsent. He's planning something." I told Jecht as I maneuvered pyreflies that contain Seymour's images towards him. "He's an anomaly."

"Ah, and I know how you hate anomalies." Jecht said knowingly, crossing his arms at the same time.

"This Guado - Seymour - he wanted to marry Yuna. At first, I thought it was because he wanted Yuna as his trophy wife, but I knew I was missing something."

"Ha! Of course, you're missing something!" Jecht laughed arrogantly, deep and resonant. "Not that I blame you, the likes of you really would not see it at first glance."

"Tell me." I commanded sullenly. Old habits never died, I guessed. Jecht always acted smug when he knew something I had no clue about.

"Nah, you'll figure it out." He dismissed the subject with a wave of his hand.

"Jecht…" I glared as I gave a warning to my old friend. This was an important matter. There is no point with him playing around.

"Oh, alright, alright, you impatient oaf." Jecht looked straight into my eyes seriously. Then he inhaled a breath and exclaimed with arms wide open, "It's love!"

And if I wasn't really glad to see him again after ten years, I would've punched his tanned face and made sure that two of his teeth fell off. Instead, I put my right palm to my face and sighed. "Why do I even bother?"

Jecht chuckled even more, and for a moment, I was tempted to say that it sounded like the giggle of a little girl. I waited for him to calm down. Then the brown-haired Zanarkand Blitzball Captain cleared his throat and became serious. "Nah, I'm just playing with ya. But it is love, Auron. The twisted sort. Because his end goal is that he wants to be like me."

My eyebrows furrowed at my friend's statement. Then after a few seconds, I finally understood what he meant. "The Final Aeon will only be as strong as the bond between the Summoner and the Guardian. " I repeated the words the Snake-face said to us when we stood before her at the end of our pilgrimage. Seymour knew what happens to the Final Aeon when Sin is vanquished. How he came to this information, I had no idea, but this matter was too important a circumstance for me to have overlooked. I clenched my fists in anger. "How could I miss this?"

"Well, what did I tell ya before, old friend? You still overthink things. And cut yourself some slack, you already have too much on your hands leading and training and saving a Summoner party."

"He will come after Yuna." I stated to Jecht. The Zanarkand Blitzball Captain nodded in affirmation.

"It will never work, but nothing will stop him from trying." Jecht added.

"Guadosalam is already after us for killing Seymour. The rest of the Yevon nations will follow as well - the Ronsos under their command and more specifically the Yevon capital, Bevelle. Almost the whole of Spira will be against us. This will make our pilgrimage to Zanarkand a lot more challenging." I surmised, placing my hand on my chin and thinking of how my Summoner's party will survive what was ahead of us. I looked at Jecht, silently asking for advice. "What's our plan?"

"Whoa, don't look at me. You and Braska were always the brains in the pilgrimage. I just follow the booze."

"We both know that's not always true." I smiled at Jecht, remembering the days when it was him who was able to solve the Cloister of Trials when Braska and I were at our wit's end.

"Well, you know… this does seem a lot like the time us Zanarkand Abes were losing against the Zanarkand Wolves." Jecht sat in a lotus position on the ground in a carefree manner. "See, since I was the best in the team the blitzball was always rightfully with me, you know? Heh, and the Wolves were…. like as their name says, Wolves. They were always blocking and defending me in packs." Jecht recounted, and I patiently waited for his idea to arise amidst his Blitzball terminology. I smiled, feeling a certain nostalgia at seeing Jecht in this manner again. "Of course, I couldn't score a goal alone with them hounding me all over. So yeah, I passed the ball to my teammates, did a play, and they passed it back to me. The thing is I had their support, and the Wolves couldn't hound me anymore, or else my teammates would be open. The goal wasn't mine, but hey, a goal is a goal. Anyway, the point is Auron, you may be the best fighter and trainer and Guardian out there, but your Summoner's party won't make it alone."

"And where will we get allies?" I asked Jecht, understanding the point he made. He didn't have to make it anymore clearer. But the question was something even I couldn't answer at the moment.

"Hmm. I seem to remember Braska saying little Yuna already have them at her beck and call in a certain sand island."

"The Al Bhed?" I wondered for a moment. It was not a relatively bad idea. The Al Bhed were always against Yevon, and Rikku said they wanted to rid Sin as well. But will Cid agree to helping Yuna finish her pilgrimage when he himself was against it in the first place. "It's a long shot." I declared to the Blitzball Captain. I knew Braska already told him of how the leader of the Al Bhed hated the High Summoner and Diplomat of Bevelle. And if Cid hated Braska, he most likely hated the red Bevelle soldier who acted as Braska's prime bodyguard.

For the sake of all Fayth, how many years had it been since I first stepped foot in the sand island, guarding Braska who eagerly sought truce and peace amidst Spira's racial war as Bevelle's diplomat? If Cid of the Al Bhed wanted our heads then, would he want the same this time? These were the days I wished Braska was still alive. It wouldn't hurt to have Raenn, Braska's wife who is Cid's sister, by my side as well. That lady could very much control Cid's volatile temper and spread a calm atmosphere through any negotiation.

But wishing will not do. The hard truth was that I have to do the talking in Yuna's behalf. This would mean telling the Al Bhed leader the truth about Sin and the pilgrimage, and that I was on the side that wanted both the Calm and for Yuna to live. It will be a necessary sacrifice.

"Sometimes you have to make the long shot, when it's the only shot you've got." Jecht answered and lightly interrupted my serious thoughts. He was right. Reaching out to the Al Bhed for their help was the only choice we had at the moment.

I nodded to him in agreement. Then my mind worked out the logistics on how to reach the sand island. This would go against Yuna's wishes, but it will be easy to convince her that this was the right step. "We are in Macalania though. We'll need to secure a ship to Bikanel. A drop-off in a discreet harbor will be very much appreciated."

"Ah, this is what I love about you, Auron. You always forget that I'm Sin." Jecht smiled openly, showing his teeth. "You could get the direct flight, you know, if you wish."

I smiled at the thought and suddenly remembered the many times that Jecht complained and whined about how there were no airships in a Summoner's Pilgrimage in Spira.

"We get to have a free ride now?"

Jecht puffed up his chest and beat it with his fist a couple of times. "The best ride there is! Of course, provided that I'm in the right frame of mind..."

"Well, don't miss, old friend." I told him, clearly letting him know that I was putting all of the lives in my Summoner's party in his hands. The last time I was part of his inter-dimensional free ride I ended up in Calm Lands.

Jecht smiled again in mirth, but he eyed me with something akin to seriousness this time. It was a rare sight for this happy-go-lucky friend of mine. Before I knew it, he moved closer to me and embraced me, strong arms wrapping around me in a tight grip. "Thank you." He said, in a voice that was a little to soft compared to its usual gruffness. "For taking care of the little runt. I mean, I really didn't mean it when I asked you to, but…"

"Jecht…" I whispered his name. I wanted to embrace him back, but my arms felt like heavy blocks of ice when I remembered something I never told him yet in this extra-dimensional meeting of ours. "No, I failed… Lenore… she..." I started but struggled to find the words to say to him how Lenore, his wife, died. And the memories of the days when I failed to help Lenore, when the thought of perhaps not being able to do something more plagued me. Were there ever right words to say to justify the shame that seized me? He asked me to take care of his family, and I...

Jecht broke the embrace, placed his hand at the back of my head, and looked at me square in the eye. "Nothing's your fault, Auron. You did what you could, and that's good enough for me. Do not place undeserved regrets on your shoulders. Zanarkand knows you're already carrying too much."

"I'm still keeping my promises." I half-whispered, whether as an affirmation to him or as assurance on myself, I was not sure. I just wanted him to know that I will never break my word.

"I know, old friend. I know." Jecht patted my shoulder freely. "But do not forget that you have your own life as well. Live, Auron."

"Jecht, you know I am already an unsent –" I reminded him, but he cut me off immediately.

"– Which is a testament that even death cannot make you break your word." Jecht smiled, then he backed off immediately for the comfort of my personal space. He knew this subject caused me distress that I never showed. "Well... if I were you in that state, you know what I'd do."

"Wine." I interjected.

"And women." He added, and we both chuckled at such a simple thought, my mind wandering to our time together in our own pilgrimage with Braska. We were such opposite individuals; he, the loud, brash, and impulsive one, and I, the quiet, calm, and calculated. I knew we would never end up as friends if we weren't in the pilgrimage. But he saved my life and I saved his, again and again that it was hard to know who owed who. His blood was my blood, and mine was equally his.

We were brothers with a bond thicker and stronger than the waters brothers who came from the same womb shared. We went back to staring at each other, and I smiled after a few seconds. It was good that I saw him again. I just never thought it would remind me of how much I missed him.

But as if on cue, we heard a deep, piercing growl that cut through our silence. It was the sound of a monster who wanted out of his cage, the sound of wanting its wrath to be unleashed to a defenseless world, the sound of a master wanting its unwilling servant.

"It's time." Jecht announced, looking a bit pained. I knew it took every ounce of his strength to overpower Yu Yevon and take control of his hold against its Sin armor.

"Bikanel, it is." I nodded to him.

Jecht smiled for the last time, before I felt wind and gravity so strong that they swept me from my feet and made me lose my consciousness. But through it all, there was one thing that burned in my mind: the thought of freeing my friend from the cage he was in. Freeing Spira, consequently, was just the consolation.

 **AN: Okay, thanks for reading folks and for patiently waiting for another chapter to come out! Feel free to give your comments on this Auron POV. Well up next is Bikanel, the home of a certain little thief. Lots of drama and action up ahead. Stay tuned! And oh, Happy New Year!**


	25. The Unspoken Power of Two

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **AN: Holy shoopuf! I knew I said in the last chapter's author's notes that I hoped it would not take me three months to update, but geez, look at how time flew by. It's been fivemonths. What's the news about me? My manager told me I "could" get promoted for busting my ass so hard the past few months. I should be happy, right? But the magic word is "could", haha. But you know what? I am happier publishing a new chapter for this fanfiction after months of writing it in bits and pieces. Does that make the screws in my head a bit loose? You be the judge! Sorry it took long to write. This one's a real head-banger with all the research and loophole filling I had to do. Anyway without further ado, here's Rikku and Auron in Bikanel. Brace yourself as this is one hell of a 15,000 word rollercoaster ride. Enjoy! :)**

 **Chapter 25: The Unspoken Power of Two**

 _ **Rikku**_

It was probably one of the scariest things I experienced in my entire life. But I said one. Don't get me wrong. I had a fair share of scary experiences. You could classify them into two categories. One was emotional, the other would be physical. What did I mean by emotional? Let's take the death of my Mom as an example. When she died, I was scared that I wouldn't ever know how to go on with my life without her. That's… another story. What counts as physical? Well, every time I played around with volatile machina components when building complex machina counted as one. And that's scary as hell.

Encountering Sin in person? Yeah, that had got to be one that would be a combination of emotional and physical fear. The whole ground was shaking, and parts of the ice cliffs above us were chipping and breaking off. But instead of them falling straight towards us, they stopped midway and floated, as if they were being sucked in a gravitational vacuum. We were panicking, I knew. Everyone was looking for some place to take cover in case the floating debris fall right to us.

I found a nook, not too small and not too far from where we were huddled mere moments ago. I squeezed into it and prayed to an unknown Fayth that Sin get bored and find somewhere else where he could do his voodoo. But as if sensing my weird wish, Sin moaned and growled again, its sound very much like a thousand cattle being slaughtered. It was the kind of sound that rang inside your ears and sent chills straight to your tummy and spinal cord, signaling to your brain that you were about to die, or at least telling you that you were really, undoubtedly, undeniably fucked - just for the lack of a better word.

The sound must have lasted for only ten seconds or more. I didn't count because who bloody counts how long Sin sends out his horrible moan of death? All I knew was that everything went black, as if all the lights in Spira suddenly switched off. I didn't know what I was feeling, but it seemed like I was floating towards some place else. And I wished desperately that I would not be alone wherever I was going.

xxxxx

It was the heat that woke me. Sweltering and blazing, the kind that seeped in your skin and squelched even the sweat that was just about to appear on your pores. There was only one place in Spira that has this kind of heat. By then, I sort of knew where we were before I even opened my eyes. It was a deep grunt though that told me I was not alone, that told me that maybe now was the good time to let my green-swirling-patterned eyeballs do their work. So I opened them, and voila, I was faced with red and black cloth and felt something hard and muscle-ish beneath me.

Well, I believed you already knew what was happening. I woke up, sprawled on top of Auron, and with my limbs tangled all over among his red coat and black vest. And if realizing that wasn't embarrassing enough, Mr. Legendary Guardian spoke before I could even move my sorry, blonde ass off of him.

"Rikku... could you move?" He said, a bit strained and muffled. As if he was suffocating due to my weight on his body, which was definitely not the case because, ahem, yours truly was just ninety pounds, thank you. But this red Guardian tended to exaggerate things, I guessed. Or did he think that I smelled bad and wanted me away from him as soon as possible? I didn't know. But when I heard his voice, I quickly moved away from him, as if his skin was a hot stove I mistakenly touched. Mr. Legendary just stood up gracefully and thoroughly brushed the sand off of his red coat. Sometimes I had a feeling that he loved that red coat too much.

"We're in Bikanel..." I dully stated while standing up and brushing off the sand that was on my clothes as well.

"Apparently." He grunted again, carefully turning around to examine his surroundings while my own eyes squinted as they adjusted to the brightness of our environment.

"But how did we get here?" I asked in a sense of wonder and amazement.

"Sin." He answered with certainty.

"How?" I asked again.

"It can send people through space and time, obviously." He replied, and I swore, a nerve on his forehead was already showing itself and must have ticked.

"Duh, I get that. But how did it happen?"

"Rikku, if I knew how Sin worked, Spira would have long gotten rid of it." He said in gritted teeth and let out an exasperated sigh, which indicated to me that I was already getting a bit on his nerve. Geez, not mere five seconds with him and he was already turning into a grouch again. Was that the effect of Sin's toxin on him? I seemed to be fine and dandy on the other hand.

"Do you know where we are?" He asked.

This time I was the one who spun and looked around me. And… there was just sand. Well, what was new? That was Bikanel for you folks, in case you didn't know. "Uhh, sorry, Boss. No clue." I shrugged at Mr. Legendary, which I knew instantly was not a good thing to do to him.

"How come you have no clue? This is your home, is it not?" He asked while pinching the bridge of his nose. Even a five year old could see that he was extending his patience with me. But why the heck was he such in a bad mood?

"Yeah, and it is also the largest island that is not part of mainland Spira. Not to mention, its land mass is covered in sand which makes it easy to get lost. There are no high terrains for landmarks. And the Al Bhed Home? You will never locate it. It's shrouded in stealth shields."

"...Surely, you must have some way of navigating?"

"'Course we do. We use omni-directional radio frequency transmitters and there are signal markers buried beneath the sands. The Al Bhed Home's coordinates are encrypted, but they are constant." I told Auron, and I didn't even bother thinking if he understood what I just said.

"And do you have one of those... omni-things?"

"An antenna and receiver. That is how they work. But the thing is…" I bit my lip, bracing myself at how Auron would react to what I was about to say. Even I was already starting to panic. "It was in my backpack and… I don't think we have our things with us."

"Draw me a map of Bikanel." Auron said, again with no hint of worry in his voice. I began to wonder how he always kept his cool at situations that seemed daunting enough for me. He was acting exactly how he was when we faced the Crawler machina of my Brother back in Lake Macalania.

"…I don't think that would help, we don't even know where we are." I told him. I was not usually a pessimist, but I really saw no point in doing it. But then again, what else can we do?

"Just draw, Rikku. I would like to have a general picture of Bikanel." Auron said, handing me a small narrow dagger that he produced out of nowhere. Now where did that come from? Hmm.

"Okay, but…" I was about to do what he said when a thought crossed on my mind. Auron must have sensed my apprehension, and he knew the reason why.

"I will never tell any other soul what you will share to me, especially not to Yevonites. I just wish for us to reach the Al Bhed Home as soon as we can, Rikku." He assured me sincerely, the foul mood he had mere moments ago gone like the wind.

"…Pinky swear?" I suddenly blurted out for no reason. Okay, I really believed what he said about him keeping the Al Bhed's secret to himself, but I couldn't help but try to toy him with it. "It's not a promise unless you do a pinky swear." I added, holding my ground even when he ridiculously raised his eyebrow at me.

Nevertheless, after a moment, he moved closer to me and… raised his own right, gloved-covered pinky. "…Pinky swear." He muttered, almost incoherently as if the simple, childish words were embarrassing enough in his mouth.

I tried hard not to laugh. It wasn't everyday that you could fool Auron to do such out of character things. Why he was indulging me, I had no idea. But I grinned from ear to ear as I raised my own left pinky and connected it with his. "Pinky swear." I told him. Boy, Tidus would have a field day when I tell him I just made Auron do a pinky swear.

Knowing he had a fairly reasonable request, I started to draw a big map of the island of Bikanel on the sand before us. I put X's on coordinates that I knew by heart: the wind and solar energy farms, the desalination plants, the Cactuar Village, some Al Bhed Ranger outposts, and Home itself. Well, you might think, Rikku, you have so many landmarks, how in the world will you ever get lost? Well, that's where you're wrong. The problem? All of these landmarks were shrouded with stealth shields. Why? Because that's how crazy my Pops was in terms of homeland security. If there would ever be a war between Yevon and the Al Bhed's again, Pops would never let Yevon outsmart us. Because how could one attack a nation you couldn't even see? That's grade A+ in defense. The downside was that it will always make finding your way home when you get lost a big pain in the butt. Especially when one did not have the omni-radar all Al Bhed's carry. And what was the biggest lesson in Bikanel navigation? Never ever lose your omni-radar.

"So that's Bikanel." I concluded to Auron after I finished explaining to him each of the coordinates. He listened carefully and nodded. Then he moved to the side of the map where Home was situated.

"How big is the Home's perimeter?" Auron asked.

"Not that big. Just around five nautical miles. There are Ranger outposts on the outskirts."

"Hm. What is this circle?" Auron pointed to an area on the map that looked different from the X's I drew. It was situated just a little southwest of Home.

"Oh, that. That's... the Dead Sand." I answered him, while swallowing a lump in my throat.

"A very ominous name. I suppose there's a reason for it?"

"Yeah. Because if you accidentally end up there, you're dead. No one gets out of there alive." I told Auron, trying to hide the chills I get every time I hear the name of Dead Sand.

"How come?"

"Fiends. Most especially the big ones like Garudas and Sand Worms. That's where they always hide. Our old folks say it was because there was a huge sandstorm there once and many Al Bhed who once lived there died. Then it became like an endless cycle. You get stuck, you die, and you end up as one big angry fiend. I think Pops tried to exterminate the fiends there before, but they're just too many of them. We just try our best to avoid that place."

"I see."

"Well, I drew you a map. What's your next bright idea, Captain Kirk? We still do not know where we are." I asked him, flopping down on the sand and absentmindedly drawing odd circles and shapes with my finger.

Auron walked around the map I drew a couple of times. I sat and watched him, engrossed on how he seemed determined to etch the map in his memory. After a while, he turned to me, and I had a feeling he came up with an idea. "Are you good at Complex Mathematics?"

"Umm. Yeah?" I looked at Auron with confusion. Why would he bring up my proficiency in Al Bhed academics at a time like this?

"I don't know how it can be done, but maybe you could figure it out." He said, and then he threw at me something black that switched on a light bulb in my head as soon as the object landed in my two hands.

It was a digital watch. An old Zanarkand-made digital watch, geared with a time, a compass, and weather information. My mind now was running a thousand paces a second. Who knew Auron had such a brilliant brain inside of his grouchy head?

"Oh, Auron, you are a genius!" I exclaimed. The mathematical equations that I would have to use to pinpoint our location manually were already resurfacing in my brain.

His head cocked to the side. "I don't think so. I hardly know Math, but I think you know how already."

"Well, of course! Leave it to me, Rikku the Pathfinder!" I took the dagger from his hand and began scribbling my calculations on the sand.

It was simple really if you have the right variables. Well, simple if you had an Al Bhed brain like mine with a whopping IQ. See, there were many theories on how to know your location when you get lost. If it was nighttime, you would easily know which way is which by looking up at the Spiran nightsky. But at daytime? You just need an objects' shadow while referring to the position of the sun, time, day, Spira's tilt, and Bikanel's coordinates which I all knew by heart. Did it sound like a mouthful? I tell you, if you put the equations on paper it will take you many sheets. Why do you think the Al Bhed built omni-radars?

Anyway, I used Auron's height and shadow as my main point and did my work. I was locked in a trance and quickly did my calculations while muttering and arguing to myself like a schizophrenic without medication. I had never done something like this before, but Auron didn't seem to mind that I seemed crazy as I worked. I didn't know how long it took me, but by the time I was finished, it was like I drew art on the sand before us. Figures, shapes, and mathematical symbols littered all over. Auron must have noticed that I was through when I moved to our drawn map of Bikanel and marked where we are with a smiley face.

"Very good." He said to me, with eyes that probably glowed with amazement. Was it just the sun on his face or my imagination?

I didn't know, but I grinned like an idiot.

xxxxx

"Eat it." He said to me for like the hundredth time, and this time, just like the last time, I just shook my head.

"Rikku, you need food in your body." He argued again, and yes, that fact seemed right enough. We had already been walking for hours in the heat of the sun. Auron and I came to a conclusion that rather than wait for help to come to us, we would look for the nearest Ranger Outpost and take it from there.

So, I was constantly navigating, calculating, and pinpointing our location from time to time aside from battling fiends that we encountered along our way. It was indeed a huge toll on my mind and body, and he thought it was high time for us to take a break when my stomach grumbled loudly as if I hadn't eaten for months. We found a small, alcove-like shelter formed by two protruding, perpendicular rocks, and we decided to rest there. Auron stepped out to get some "food", and I must have been feeling a bit woozy that I didn't bother to ask where he would find some.

He came back carrying something and started a small fire using a little black magic he knew and used only for emergency. What he cooked though was what led to our present situation.

"Think of it as a steak and fresh green salad." He insisted again.

"Hey, I know what steak and salad are, and they are most certainly not _that_." I said in defense, like a six year old who did not want to eat her vegetables, or brussel sprouts and bitter gourd. Holy shoopuf, I would take brussel sprouts and bitter gourd any day over what this Big Master Chef Wanna-be was trying to serve me.

Just what was the food? Or the pseudo-food? It was Sand Wolf meat and Sandragora stems chopped to bits. Well, what sort of food could you find in Bikanel outside the perimeters of the Al Bhed Home? If you say you could eat that, well, good for you. Me? There was no way in hell I was putting fiend carcass body parts inside my own body. Not even if you pay me a million gil. If it were ten million though… hmm.

But him? He paid no mind to my childish ways and grabbed a piece of the so called steak and took a bite. It made a sickening sound. I cringed at how disturbing the act looked like.

"Just like a steak." He said and bit again. "Come on, eat." He added, after swallowing.

"No way! I can't eat that!" I whined as if my life depended on it. Though maybe it did? That Sand Wolf meat and Sandragora stems could be poisoned you know.

"You can."

"Well, _you_ can. Not me, no. But you? I bet you can even digest rocks and steel." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"You're going to starve." He said to me darkly this time. I knew this tactic. It was the same one my Pops used to do to force me to do my homework instead of tinkering with the machina I had lying around in my room. _Rikku, if you do not study, you're gonna end up wiping off chocobo poop in your Uncle Rin's chocobo pens forever._

Of course, that was horror. But this, on the other hand?

"I can still walk for miles! We can reach Home by then. Or a Ranger outpost that has rations." I said adamantly, and I knew it was not a distant possibility.

"I don't think so. Your calculation said they're still fifty miles out." Auron said deadpanned, bursting my bubble of fantasy. That didn't mean he wasn't right though. Even I knew I would not last another fifty miles in an empty stomach. But still...

"...Well, I'm a fighter. I'll survive." I said weakly, but not weak enough not to pout and cross my arms.

"Death by starvation is hell. You'll start hallucinating and lose your mind." Oh, nice try, Auron. Here were his stories of impending doom I knew he was going to say. Why not also say I will be very weak and dying that Garudas will be feasting on me giddily once I stumble flat on the ground?

"Then you'll just have to do the calculations and navigation yourself when I am all loony." I answered back, furiously shutting my eyes and turning my head away. Yeah, I was hard-headed that way.

He fell silent for more than a minute that I thought he had given up already. But in an almost inaudible whisper he said, "...What will become of me then? Would you wish for me to die here too?"

My head immediately turned towards his direction. Those words were not what I wanted to hear, and I couldn't believe he said them."That… that's not fair. You are not allowed to play that card." I told him, eyeing him seriously just to be certain that he wasn't joking. Auron was a master at psychological warfare; my training with him included fortifying my mind from opponents who could slice you with words as their sword.

But he looked at me calmly with no hint of manipulation at his stare. It was just the pure truth that he wanted to convey. "It will happen, Rikku. If you do not feed your body. I need you to be as strong as you can." He added, his hand stretched toward me and holding a piece of that darn Sand Wolf meat.

My gaze shifted from what his hand was holding and back to his face. For a second, I thought I saw a strange glint in his good, brown eye. Something that said he was sorry for making me go through this. That if he had a power like some magical genie, we would be feasting on something other than what he was trying to feed me. How did one ever refuse the hidden words his one good eye wanted to say?

"I meant…" I stuttered and looked away from him. Then I grumbled grudgingly, "Arggh! Alright, alright!" I took the piece of the Sand Wolf meat and bit as fast as I could before I was able to change my mind.

And it was not like steak at all. No. It was like eating a hard and rough sponge that stank like rotten fish. I swallowed it but vomited half of what I ate back up.

Oh well, Auron. Just don't tell me I didn't try.

xxxxx

"Hey, Auron! I see something!" I shouted at Auron who was a bit lagging behind me. We were travelling in the desert for a day and a half now. The heat itself wasn't also helping in mitigating our exhaustion. But then I saw something over the distance, and just by the shape of it, I knew it was an Al Bhed Ranger Outpost - one that we were desperately wanting to reach.

"But didn't your calculation say the nearest Ranger Outpost was at least twenty miles farther from our last checkpoint?" He said, and I could sense that he was strangely hesitant. Or maybe he was just being cautious? Auron was sure paranoid this way. "It also looks abandoned, Rikku. Weren't they supposed to be shrouded in stealth?"

"Oh, who cares about my calculation? It is a Ranger Outpost! Maybe I missed one out. I don't have all the outpost coordinates memorized to plot them on the map. And even if it was abandoned, we may still find some supplies there, or omni-radars, or even a radio to use to communicate to Home." I answered back, thrilled to imagine that we were just a radio call away from help to get to the Al Bhed Home. And food? For sure we will find rations there. Goodbye icky Sand Wolf meat, and hello, real food!

This was a miracle one did not ever refuse.

Auron looked at me, and I could see that he was really thinking it through. I didn't know what it was that was bothering him, but my arguments seemed compelling enough. Eventually, he slowly nodded in agreement, and upon seeing that, I took off as fast as my feet could go, the arid breeze behind my back feeling a bit unnaturally balmy on my skin. I heard Auron's chuckle at my enthusiasm, and he followed me, running on the same pace I was on. Just a few more hundred meters and we were about to reach the Ranger Outpost, until…

"Rikku, look out!" Auron yelled for me loudly. I barely realized what came out of the sands on my right. It sprang and moved swiftly despite its huge mass. Then it rose to its full height of around forty feet, baring its big red mouth that was filled with sharp teeth and disgusting, sticky, transparent drool. It was a Sand Worm. I stood and stared at it for a few seconds, feeling my legs shake and unable to move in fear. Then it suddenly burrowed itself to the sands again, as if preparing for its hidden, surprise attack.

"Come on, Rikku! To the outpost, quick!" Auron shouted again, grabbing my arm and forcing me to move myself. We ran and ran as fast as humanly possible to the abandoned Ranger Outpost. On my left, two more Sand Worms sprang from the ground and growled menacingly. It was as if our footfalls woke them up from their restful sleep, and they wanted to attack us as revenge for our little sin. We reached the inside of the Ranger Outpost, exhausted and panting for our breaths.

It wasn't long until I voiced out my confusion in between my heaving. "Sand Worms? W-Why are there Sand Worms?"

Auron shook his head and wiped the sweat on his forehead with his sleeve. "I do not know, Rikku. You told me they are concentrated in the Dead Sand. Unless…"

"No, no, no, no! I checked our route multiple times. I designed it to specifically avoid the Dead Sand. I swear I –"

"Do not fret. Catch your breath first." Auron told me as he stood up and looked at the Sand Worms menacingly patrolling a few meters outside the abandoned Ranger Outpost we were in. "It doesn't seem like they are interested in attacking us here?"

I looked to where Auron was facing and tried to hypothesize why the Sand Worms didn't dare come close to the outpost. "They say Sand Worms are territorial. Or probably this Ranger Outpost's solar-powered sonic barriers are still working."

Auron looked at me with interest. I decided to explain to him this technology to take my mind off of the thought of the Sand Worms outside. "A sonic barrier is a sound-emitting device that gives off sound at the highest frequency. Our human ears don't hear it, but fiends can, and it is completely hurtful to their ears. Perhaps, the ones here are still active, that's why they can't go near."

"In short, we are safe as long as we are in the confines of this outpost?" Auron nodded his conclusion.

"Yes. But let me look around. Maybe we'll find clues on where we are and why we ended up here." I said to Auron, obviously avoiding both our hunch that we were already in the Dead Sand. Maybe there was another reason for the appearance of the Sand Worms? Maybe they acted like birds who migrated to different places due to the changing seasons? I wanted to delude myself because the hard fact of being stranded in the Dead Sand wasn't really what I was hoping for.

"Maybe I could find some supplies we could use." Auron said and headed to the other side of the outpost where he thought was the storage room.

I took the path that led me to the western side. Ranger Outposts usually were not bigger than a hundred-fifty square meters. The basic layout was that in the east were the storage room and the huddle room. The west usually held the sleeping room and the Captain's quarters. I headed there and saw six, empty bunk beds, lined up by three's and facing each other. I shuddered at the thought that there were Al Bhed Rangers that slept there once. What became of them? Parking the question to not imagine horrible things, I went inside the Captain's quarters.

Just like the rest of interior of the outpost, the Captain's quarters was filled with dust and cobwebs. There were brown cabinets lined up along the right wall. I opened them one by one and found that they were empty. No radios, or omni-radars. This was not what I was expecting. I tried to suppress a shiver. I moved to the desk at the north of the room. There was a map of Bikanel pinned on the top of the surface, the kind of map that was filled with contour lines and varying numbers marking each.

It was a map that specifically outlined the magnetic fields in Bikanel.

My heart must have stopped beating as I immediately realized something. I made a mistake, a very big mistake. The note at the bottom of the map didn't help either. It was scrawled hurriedly in Al Bhed and red ink, dated five years ago.

 _I'm so sorry, Cid. We should have given more buffers in the demarcation of this base from the start. Now they surrounded us, and they're just too many of them. But we'll go down fighting. Know that we went down fighting._

 _\- Kaunka, Captain of Ranger Unit 153_

"Rikku, I found a few rations. They seemed five years old, but I think they are still edible. At least the labels say they still are –" Auron paused immediately as he saw me shuddering. My shoulders must have been shaking so hard that I became startled when he softly placed his hand on me. "...What's wrong?"

I bit my lip as I fought hard not to cry, but the tears still flowed and stained my cheeks. I couldn't look at him, even if I tried. "Auron, we are… we are in the Dead Sand."

xxxxx

Magnetic deviation.

It was the simple phenomenon of a magnetic compass being tilted erroneously or deviated significantly due to local magnetic anomalies, thus misdirecting you from your true assumed destination unless you accounted for it and adjusted your bearings in your navigation. And that always put it to the number one spot in Things to Never Forget in Bikanel Navigation 101. Bikanel was an island filled with magnetic anomalies on its crust and outer mantle due to the abundance of core power sources hidden underneath its arid landscape. It was both a blessing and a curse. We got free energy to power up our machina; in turn, it always messed up our navigation systems in these easy-to-get-lost lands. It would not do you harm, unless you knew that it was there. Unless you remembered to factor that phenomenon when navigating.

So yeah, magnetic deviation. The sole cause of our being drifted unintentionally to the middle of the Dead Sand. And by the magnitude of the magnetic anomaly in that horrid, fiend-infested place, it threw us off-course at about twenty degrees. Like getting your spaceship sucked inside a black hole unwillingly, even though you desperately planned to avoid it, only because you forgot to take into account the heavy pull of its gravity. I meant, I never experienced that, but I imagined it would be the best analogy.

What were we going to do now? Mr. Survivor counted the supply of rations he found. It could feed us for ten days, provided we eat once a day. He even argued that he'd give me his share, stretching it to almost a fortnight for me.

"I was once a soldier, Rikku. I could last a very long time without food." He insisted, but I shook my head adamantly. I didn't want the thought of him starving to death to be added to my already guilty conscience, I told him. He fell silent to that and didn't add anything anymore.

So, after settling in the open hall and eating some rations that probably had more preservatives than nutrition, I set out to do my work. Like an architect who was determined to know how his building fell apart, I retraced my calculations and found where it all went wrong – where the magnetic deviation started kicking in and messed up our compass. I had a real map now as I took the one in the Captain's quarters. I found the red ballpoint pen inside the desk's drawers, and I used it to scribble at the back of the map. I worked furiously on getting a course on the next nearest Ranger Outpost – a real one with living people. And this time? I made sure that that darn magnetic deviation was taken account for in every quarter-mile. When I was through, I presented all of it to Auron.

"So, our last checkpoint was already twenty degrees off-course. But we know where we are now, thanks to this map. This outpost is at least forty miles away from Aycdanh Vnuhd – the Eastern Front outpost – our original destination. The Dead Sand stretches at least twenty-five miles more to the east, but if we run for it, we can make it."

Auron was silent as he took in my words. I knew he was deliberating the pros and cons of my suggestion. I gave him time to think about it, handing him the map and the sheet of paper where I did my calculations. He studied it for a few minutes, and then he spoke his mind. "...No. You know no other shelter in the east of this abandoned outpost. That means twenty-five miles of facing constant threats of Sand Worms and Fayth knows what. I won't let you go through that, Rikku."

"Yeah, well, I thought of that too. You know the sonic barriers that we have here? I could break them to miniature versions. They would be less powerful in terms of distance covered, but they can still ward off the Sand Worms and other big scary fiends." I told him, wanting him to see that I got every angle covered.

Again he fell silent. I had a good point, you know? But he looked at me intently and said, "No."

"W-What?" My voice must have gone up a half-step of pitch in shock. "What do you mean no?"

"You heard me. I am still saying no. We are staying here." He replied, stubbornly handing back to me the map and my papers where my calculations were scribbled..

I shook my head, finding his answer incredulous. "Don't be ridiculous. It's a good plan. Why the hell stay here?"

"...It's dangerous." He whispered softly, in an almost resigned state.

"Of course, it is! We are in the freakin' Dead Sand! Don't you think I know that?" I told him, not even holding back from raising my voice.

"And do you know how Kaunka's unit died?" He asked, his voice sounding deeper with what I could only think of as restrained anger. That tone was so unnatural coming from him that it made me put brakes on what I was about to say.

"...I-I don't know." I admitted rather timidly.

"Think, Rikku. There are no radios or omni-radars left in this outpost, but there are some rations left. What does that mean? It means they did the exact same thing you are proposing. They must have communicated to the Eastern Front to provide backup for them from the other side at a certain range of perimeter. But the defining factor was that they didn't make it close enough for a rescue rendezvous. Do you know what's even worse? We have no radio or omni-radars. By the magnitude of the magnetic anomaly here, even the navigation attempt while fending off fiends would be suicide."

"I've already taken account every magnetic deviation. I can navigate–" I protested, but he immediately cut me off.

"You can navigate? Look where we are now."

His seething voice resonated in my head, like the sound of a glass shattering and breaking the silence. I couldn't believe what I was hearing from him. Dumbfounded, I asked again to know and dig deeper in what he was implying. "Are you… are you blaming me for leading us here?"

Auron fell silent, but he stared at me as if I was some disgusted, unwanted insect in his shoes.

"Y-You are, aren't you?" I felt tears threatening to flow again from my eyes. But I bit my lip and fought them hard. I will not display weakness. No, not in front of him, especially with the kind of row we were having now.

"Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. The fact remains that your mistake, no matter how unintentional it was, led to our present situation and made a very big impact." He said, in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone. The one he often used every time he became tired and angry and wanted everyone to stay the hell away from him when we were not performing as he expected. I often understood that tone, often understood why he wanted some time alone and let everyone munch on some proverbial words he previously said while walking away like some significant pause in a dramatic cliffhanger.

But this time? It felt like he stabbed me with his dagger and pulled it out after five grueling seconds.

"And you are not even man enough to say outright that it is my fault. Do you think it hurts less when you sugarcoat it with your boring political correctness?" I replied to him, anger laced in my voice now, never holding it back anymore. If he wanted a war with words, well, I could produce my own verbal ammunition to fire at him.

 _I will not cry in front of him. I will not cry in front of him._

"Forgive me. If that attempt of stating a fact while being mindful not to bruise your ego already offended you, Rikku, then you are not even mature enough to handle any sharp truth this world will hand you."

There it went, and my tears flowed uncontrollably, staining my cheeks. Auron was indeed always a master at psychological warfare. He knew everyone's weakness, and he knew that, even though it would be uncalled for, a derisive comment on my incompetence because of my young age would be enough to defeat me, equivalent to him firing a headshot at me point-blank.

So, incredibly hurt like some kicked and abused puppy, I fought back the only way I knew how. "...I hate you. I wish it was never you that I got lost with here in Bikanel." I half-whispered, clenching my fist and restraining myself from launching myself at him and punching him like I did when we were in Thunder Plains. That would just prove his point of my immaturity.

"We are staying here. That's final. This has a higher probability of survival rather than the ridiculous idea you were suggesting." He repeated, ending our argument. But I already had resolve in my head that I will not listen.

I stood up carefully, brushed the tears from my eyes with my forearm, and walked away from him. I wanted to create distance between him and me as far as how Zanarkand Ruins was against the Besaid Islands. If he was surprised or disappointed that I did not throw any barbed retort anymore, I could not care less.

I will not rot in the Dead Sand wishing and waiting for a rescue.

No, I will find a way out myself.

xxxxx

I slept on one of the bunk beds in the sleeping room, after peeling and dusting off the worn-out, dirty sheets yesterday night. If Auron slept in the room as well, I didn't know for sure, because it was just me alone in the room when I woke up. There was only silence in the Ranger Outpost. It was daytime, and I assumed the Sand Worms that popped out a day before became utterly bored and burrowed in underneath the sands.

I patted my face a few times to clear my head. I already knew what I had to do. I just need to them quickly, or else, I would drive myself insane here in this Outpost. I didn't want to be stuck here with Mr. Cyclops. Anything but that. So, after fixing my hair, I padded to the open hall quietly. As I was nearing, I heard the sound of steel scraping into something like a smooth stone.

 _Cred_. Mr. It's-all-your-fault was already up and sharpening his broad katana. What a nice thing to see first thing in the morning. I was already feeling the beginning of sore eyes. And if that wasn't bad enough, his sixth sense triggered and immediately noticed me lingering in the open hall entrance without even looking at me.

"You have food here. Get them."

Sure enough, my eyes wandered to the center of the hall where there were two packs of rations. I immediately knew what it meant. He was giving me his share. But if that was his way of apologizing instead of saying the he was sorry, I didn't want it. Feeling rebellious, I walked right past the rations and into the door leading to the front perimeters of the Ranger Outpost.

But he must have known what I was about to do all along, because he spoke again and halted my steps without even looking up from his task of sharpening his broad katana. "Don't be stubborn. You need food in your stomach."

"What _I_ need is to calculate the voltage needed to successfully power a high-functioning miniaturized version of a sonic barrier. Do you have an answer to that? No, I think not." I snapped at him, starting to get annoyed that he still wasn't even looking at me. It was making me want to grab that smooth stone and pummel it on his head.

Instead, I shook my own head. How was it that I always wanted to become violent when I was frustrated with Auron? Probably because we were both hard-headed in a similar yet different way. Didn't know what I meant? I guess you could say that I was like a tornado, and he was like a volcano; two unstoppable forces of nature. And when we clash… well, you probably got the drift already.

"Suit yourself." He said tersely, still not withdrawing his eyes from the sword-sharpening that he was doing.

I paid him no mind and ventured outside to the perimeters of the Ranger Outpost. I looked at the expanse of sand far ahead of me. The gentle breeze seemed to softly push small waves after waves of sand. If I didn't know that there were Sand Worms underneath the sand dunes, looking at the horizon of the Dead Sand was calming in a way. But still, I will not be fooled.

I immediately set out to find the sonic barriers. They weren't that hard to find. I located one on the northeast of the Ranger Outpost entrance. Its small solar panel stuck out, and I carefully dug around it to pull it out. When I dug enough, around four feet deep, I pulled out the device as cautiously as I could. It was like eight feet long, wrapped in steel and weighed heavy like twenty pounds. This weight really meant I had to miniaturize it without a doubt. It was divided into three sound-emitting sections, each with a flickering green light that meant it was working its high frequency sounds.

I smiled inwardly knowing what I had to do. I just had to rewire the sections and separate a block off to lessen the weight. Of course, that may sound easy, but rewiring requires a lot of voltage calculation and estimation for it to work, and I only had one shot at it. I cannot compromise the safety of the Ranger Outpost. No matter how much I hated Mr. Sword Sharpener right now, I wouldn't want him to get eaten by Sand Worms by destroying all the sonic barriers because I tampered with all of them. I was not that evil.

I did not know how long I worked. But it must have been long enough that the horizon already changed to an orange hue, and I felt a shadow looming over me. It was Auron, no doubt. He didn't speak, but I knew he was watching me.

"...No one goes to the Dead Sand. Not even rescue teams; it only causes more deaths. It has been a long unspoken rule for the Al Bhed's since The Second Extermination. That was what prompted Kaunka and his unit to leave this outpost and try to save themselves." I told him, not missing a beat. I didn't want to burst his bubble of fantasy of getting rescued, but this was one fact in Al Bhed rules that even a blindly hopeful, stubborn ass like him had to know.

"Are you more afraid of knowing that Cid will not rescue you – his very own daughter – or of being disappointed that he did not after hoping that he would?" He replied in an inquisitive tone, almost like a how a shrink would attempt to psychoanalyze you to bits and pieces. I didn't want to indulge him in his mind war again, so I did all that I could to fend him off.

"Who said you could disturb me? If you are not helping me in my plan, then fucking bugger off."

He must have been offended with my vulgarity because I heard his fading footsteps. But after a good twenty seconds, he spoke again, reminding me that he was still close by. "…I have faith in Cid." He said with certainty.

"Yeah? Well, go away and meditate on your faith. Hell, you could even pray to a stone Cactuar and ask it to save you. I. Do. Not. Care!" I shouted at him, fighting off the urge to fling the separated section of the sonic barrier at him. Damn him and all his off-hand ways of messing with my head.

He only chuckled darkly, and before he went back inside the Outpost he said, "You have food inside the Outpost, Rikku. Do not neglect your hunger just because you are mad at me."

I flipped my head towards his direction to glare at him, but by the time I did so, he already had gone inside. I shrugged my shoulders then and decided to go back to work.

I finished rewiring the separated section of the sonic barrier well into the night. By the time I did so, I had a grin plastered on my face which I always had after doing some improvised machina tinkering. There was one little question that bugged me though. I had not tested the full strength of the sonic barrier yet, although my calculations did say the miniaturized version could ward off big fiends at a spherical circumference of two kilometers. Guess, I would only know how it will perform by the time I use it.

I entered the Outpost and found three packs of rations in the center of the hall. I could only assume that Mr. Faithful didn't eat again and was giving me his share. Well, I was not his mother to scold him and remind him to eat. I opened one pack and ate while studying again my Bikanel map and navigation calculations. I went to the storage room and tried to pack some supplies that I would need for tomorrow. I gathered some medical kits and rations. After I was through, I went inside the sleeping room, tired and wanting to shut my eyes. I had to wake up at the break of dawn to start my travel out of the Dead Sand.

I found him sitting on the floor and leaning on the right wall near the entrance of the sleeping room, knees drawn near his chest and his broad katana resting on his shoulder and in the middle of his legs. I studied Auron for a few seconds, silently wondering if he was awake or not. When I padded silently in front of him, I found out that he wasn't. Perhaps, this was how he always slept, always ready to jump into action, being a soldier of Bevelle for a long, long time. Feeling absolutely childish, I stuck my tongue at him and made ridiculous faces in front of him before feeling giddy and deciding to hop on the bunk bed I slept on the night before.

Tomorrow, I'll be out of this Dead Sand.

xxxxx

I woke up with my nerves wracking me, but I knew I had to calm myself. What did Pops always say? _Nervousness are just extra adrenaline in your veins when you step out of your comfort zone, Rikku._ I repeated that to myself three times, after fixing my hair and preparing the things that I would bring. Finding a renewed resolve, I started to walk out of the sleeping room but stopped when I was in front of Auron. I studied him again; he was exactly how I last saw him yesterday night, sitting on the floor. But when I decided to leave, he suddenly spoke surprisingly.

"What you are about to do is stupidity." He said as he raised his head and opened his good eye to look at me.

"What _you_ are doing is stupidity as well. Guess, we'll just know who is more stupid between us in the end, eh? Wanna bet?" I smirked at him, but he just lowered his head as if wanting to go back to sleep again.

"Hmph." He grunted.

"Don't worry. When I get to the Eastern Front, I'll send back up so I could fulfill your fantasy of getting rescued."

"I doubt you'll reach that far. You'll just crawl right back here at the end of the day." He chuckled darkly without even looking at me. I clenched my fist angrily, realizing how much he belittled my abilities again. Auron could really get nasty to someone if he wanted to. Not wanting to fall for his verbal war bait, I just stepped out of the sleeping room in silence and proceeded to the front perimeters.

He, on the other hand, made no move to stop me again. I didn't think I could be stopped though, even if he did. I looked at the expanse of the Dead Sand before me, strapped on the digital watch I had for navigation, readied my map, and powered on my miniature sonic barrier. This was it. I held my breath, counted one to three, and started to walk out of the Ranger Outpost perimeters with shaky legs.

I didn't know if it was the time of day, or if it was the sonic barrier, but I was able to walk around ten miles without encountering Sand Worms, not counting the Garuda that flew right above me. I looked at the sky, and the sun was shining already. It must have been mid-morning already. Feeling hunger striking my tummy, I flopped down on the ground, unpacked one of my rations, and started to eat. I began to reflect on how far I would have to go and smiled to myself. I was already around a third on my estimated travel distance. Two-thirds more and I will be out of the Dead Sand and will be trekking the distance to the Eastern Front. Satisfied, I began my travel again.

This was where things began going downhill. Auron was right. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Over the distance, I saw two Garudas flying in circles. Upon sensing me, they flew towards me. Fearing they'd catch up with me, I ran and held the sonic barrier tightly. Before they collided with me as they swooped downwards, at around five-hundred meters, they recoiled as if they were hit invisibly by something. I felt relieved. Maybe I overestimated the distance covered of the miniature sonic barrier by twice the amount, but it still worked. I ran again, desperately trying to shake off the Garudas. But then two huge Sand Worms of about seventy feet immediately sprang up from the sands in front of me. They motioned to attack, instinct made me evade and swerve to the right. The same thing happen: the Sand Worm recoiled at about five hundred meters.

However, the other Sand Worm recovered, poised to strike on my left, and I evaded as hard as I could, but tripped as I did so. The sonic barrier fell out my grasp in quite a distance. _Vilg! Vilg!_ By the time I had sense to run after it, the two Sand Worms kept attacking, and I evaded and evaded as they recoiled, recovered, and attacked again. It wasn't long until the other Garuda fought and broke through the high-frequency sound the sonic barrier was producing and plucked it away from the ground where it was thrown. _Vilg! Vilg!_

I was on my own, without the protection of the sonic barrier. Good grief, fate wasn't really kind to me. The two Sand Worms rose to full heights, growled loudly, and bared their mouths that were dribbling with disgusting drool. I changed my stance to fight mode. It was a long shot; my attacks would be weak, but if I had to fight my way out of this mess, I would have to defeat these horrible fiends. The Sand Worm on the left struck first, and I evaded. Then the Sand Worm on the right struck straight through with the intent of swallowing me whole. I defended with my targe as best as I could, but the other Sand Worm was about to strike again. _Vilgehk ramm!_ I was cornered, and I could really feel in my bones that I was about to die.

Until… the Sand Worm on my left let out a growl with pain before it could attack me. It all happened fast. There was a red blur, and suddenly, I was pushed to the ground by something, and I saw Auron standing in front of me, his broad katana drawn and ready to fight.

"Run, Rikku." He said, turning his head towards me.

"But…" I hesitated. The two Sand Worms rose to full heights menacingly. I couldn't leave him here fighting alone, even if he wanted me to. I stood up to my feet, wanting to fight as well.

He must have known my stubbornness because he shouted again, "I said run!".

And then he immediately went after the two Sand Worms, slashing, slicing, and piercing with his broad katana. I watched in wonder as he fought the two fiends by himself, but when the other Sand Worm was about to strike him without him noticing, I immediately threw the grenades I was saving for emergency in my shorts' pockets.

The other Sand Worm recoiled, and then in between heaving breaths, he looked back at me for a second in surprise and said, "Didn't I told you to run?"

"I will not leave you here." I told him adamantly.

He raised his eyebrow and smirked. Then he smiled, "Stupid, stubborn brat."

"Stupid, infuriating prick." I stuck my tongue out again at him, and he laughed, the sound like a melodic symphony. Which was something I really shouldn't think about in the middle of a battle with scary fiends.

"Fine." Auron agreed grudgingly. He bounced his broad katana over his shoulder, which he often did when he was thinking deeply. The two Sand Worms seemed like they were waiting for us to come to them. "Remember our fight with the Wendigo in Lake Macalania?"

I grinned, knowing what he meant. "Divert attention and attack?"

"They'll sometimes burrow, but they'll spring up right where you are standing. You'll feel it in the ground." Auron advised, and I wondered how easily he recognized that pattern in just a few seconds of fighting with the Sand Worms. "I'll use my Overdrive by then."

"Roger that." I confirmed, not even minding how dangerous his plan was. Somehow, no matter how impossible to defeat the fiend was, Auron seemed to have something under his sleeves. This seemed to give me more confidence than necessary, compared to when I was struggling with the Sand Worms alone.

He nodded his head. "Let's go."

We rushed to the two Sand Worms which separated in different directions. Auron chased the one on the right, slashing as he got close. The one on the left burrowed to the sands, and I knew I had to stay right where I was to feel the ground and act as bait. Sure enough, I felt some trembling and in half a second, I evaded as the Sand Worm sprang up straight out.

"Auron!" I shouted as a signal to him. He wasted no time, changed his targets, and then unleashed his overdrive, Shooting Star. But instead of him just hitting with one slash like the one he did in our training in Moonflow, this one was filled with constant, multiple slashes that lacerated the springing Sand Worm horizontally and vertically as it moved upward from beneath the ground. By the time he was through, pieces of this Sand Worm carcass were everywhere around us.

"No rest for the wicked." He grinned and was back on his feet. "Another one, Rikku."

I nodded, feeling energized that our plan worked flawlessly. I rushed to where the other Sand Worm was and repeated the same tactic. It worked just the same, with Auron sending bits and pieces of the Sand Worm everywhere. After we were through with that last one, we flopped to the ground panting but laughing. We escaped another brush of death.

"Do you think they'll be good enough to eat?" I asked Auron, indirectly hinting at the fiend carcasses all around us.

"I may have a strong stomach, Rikku, but I don't think I could eat Sand Worms." He said, while flicking off his broad katana to remove the sliminess that accumulated on its spine.

"Yeah, me too." I stood up, brushing off the sand on my shorts. We then looked at each other. He was eyeing my strangely, but he had a smile on his face. I smiled back, and I was about to say thanks to him for saving my butt, when…

Another Sand Worm sprang up from the ground where he was standing and swallowed him whole.

"Auron!" I shouted, but he was gone in an instant. "Fuck! Auron! Auron! VILG!" I shouted and shouted in shock. I couldn't believe what happened. He was just right in front of me, and then… the new Sand Worm was suddenly there in his place. No, this could not be happening. This could not be happening at all!

But instead of this new Sand Worm attacking me too and swallowing me whole. It turned its head in a different direction and started crawling away. It was taking Auron away right before my eyes. And I want him back. For the love of all Fayth, I want Auron back.

"No, give him back!" I shouted and ran after the new Sand Worm. I unleashed the claws of my targe and started attacking the new Sand Worm's behind. "Give him back! Give him back!" I shouted as I struck and struck in blind rage. But it didn't work. My attacks were too weak, and without even paying attention, its tail swung at me full force knocking my down over and over as I got up and attacked again. After one more powerful swing that sent my head buzzing, it began to crawl away faster.

It was taking Auron away. And I couldn't even do a damn thing to save him.

Tears began to well up in my eyes. Auron. _Cred! Vilg!_ Why was I always this useless? Why can't I even save someone, anyone, when it was their turn to be saved? Why was I always like this? I felt anger rising inside of me. It was becoming a raging fire that coiled in my spine and burned all the way to my chest. I screamed and screamed as I felt something, a surge of energy erupting, unleashing, and exploding.

Before I knew it, huge meteors were falling from the sky and hit the new Sand Worm constantly. The last thing I remembered was whispering Auron's name before I blacked out.

xxxxx

A gentle breeze woke me up. I didn't know how long I was passed out, but my body still seemed exhausted. I opened my eyes and saw brown rocks above my head. We were again in an alcove-like shelter, like the one we were in a few days before our being stranded in the Dead Sand. It made me wonder if it was all a dream. Was it? I turned to my side and saw Auron sitting on the ground without his red coat. Hmm, unusual. Then I looked at my torso to see that it was draped over me.

"W-Where are we?" I asked him, my voice cracked and hoarse.

"I wouldn't know Rikku. But definitely somewhere in the Dead Sand." He looked at me with surprise to know that I was awake. Something like relief washed over his pale face.

"It wasn't a dream?" I asked again, still trying to get my bearings.

He chuckled dryly. "I wouldn't know what you were dreaming of. But being in the Dead Sand? No, this is not a dream, or a nightmare."

I suddenly felt memories rushing to my head. Losing the sonic barrier. Struggling to fight the two Sand Worms. Auron suddenly saving me. Us defeating the Sand Worms. Him getting swallowed by another one. Then the meteors. I sat up quickly and then winced as I felt a strong pain on my arms. They were wrapped with bandages. Auron was beside me in an instant helping me sit up.

"Easy." He cautioned, while handing me a flask of water. I drank all of it, feeling dehydrated. "Your arms were bruised and wounded heavily. I didn't have potions, but I used some Al Bhed medical ointments I found in the medical kit you brought."

Now that he explained my injury, I then remembered their cause. The tail of the Sand Worm that swallowed Auron struck me over and over. I tried to peek under the bandages. The bruises were in a sickening color of dark purple and red. But all of them didn't matter to me. What mattered was that Auron was still alive, right here beside me. But the man must have thought something different as he saw tears threatening to flow from my eyes.

"They won't scar. Do not worry." Auron told me softly as he brushed his thumb over the newly bandaged wounds on my left arm. "You'll still be beautiful."

"That's not… I don't care about scars…" I said in between gasping breaths as the dams broke and tears finally escaped my eyes and I sobbed heavily. "S-Sorry… You almost died. For the love of Fayth, you almost died. It's my fault, Auron, and I know I'm so stupid and –"

"Hush. Don't blame yourself, Rikku." He commanded gently, placing a hand on my shaking shoulder. "You were right, you know. At some point, perhaps we'd have to make a move out of that abandoned Outpost. And I should've trusted you. This is your home after all. And I shouldn't have blamed you, when you did the best you could..."

"Will you forgive me?" He added with sincerity that I knew was genuine. I nodded my head in acknowledgement, and he closed his good eye for a moment as if he was absorbing all my forgiveness.

"I just… I don't want to die here, Auron. Not in Bikanel. Not in the Dead Sand." I told him my greatest fear that drove me to where we were now. I wished he understood what I really meant.

"Look at me, Rikku." Auron placed his hand at the back of my head, brushing my golden hair in one smooth down stroke. His good brown eye looked at me sincerely. Then with a soft voice that was almost like a whisper he said, "I won't let you die here. You have my word. But for now, for now… let's rest?"

Still feeling exhaustion, I nodded to him obediently and laid back down.

"Will you… will you lay beside me?" I asked Auron, rather shyly. If he was shocked by my request, he did not show it. Instead, he nodded his head and laid down on his back beside me, our shoulders and arms touching each other.

"I'm scared, Auron." I quietly admitted to him. Even though we escaped the brush of death caused by our encounter with the Sand Worms, there was still no telling what we would face in another day in the Dead Sand. How were we going to survive? I just wanted to go home.

"Will it make you feel better to know that you are not alone in that feeling, Rikku?" He said, almost fifteen seconds later after my admission that I had thought he didn't hear me voicing out my fear like a child scared of the dark.

"You're scared too?" I asked in disbelief.

"All the time." Auron confessed. And then he turned to his side to look at me, cushioning his head with his right forearm. Something in his honest admission told me that it wasn't just being here in the Dead Sand that scared him. It might be the pilgrimage, Sin, or Yuna's sacrifice. Almost everything that would make living difficult in Spira.

"But you never show it." I concluded, and I also turned to my side to face him, mirroring his position while being mindful of my arms' bruises.

"If one can control one's fear, one can control everything." He stated with his good eye closed as if trying to recall the words as they were spoken to him back then. But by the time he opened his good eye, I failed to hide the confusion in my face. He noticed it, smiled lightly, and added, "...Words from my Warrior Monk Master when I was his apprentice."

"If I understood what it meant, I would say he's very wise." I bit my lip, a habit I that I usually do when I was confused.

"In dire situations, most people would think they already have no control and likely give up. But the truth is, you can control almost everything, Rikku. Identify your fear, and then defend your mind with rationality. That is what that saying meant." He explained to me, his voice going back to teaching mode, confident and commanding but in a way that invites one to listen attentively. And even when we were not in our daily break-of-dawn trainings, I figured that people, especially the rest of our Summoner's party, did listen to Auron, not just because he was the Legendary Guardian, but because he did know what he was saying.

"You mentioned earlier that you are afraid to die here in this part of Bikanel. But you are still alive –physically hurt, yes – but still with full limbs." He continued. "We have no food, but we can scavenge food from fiend carcasses and water from water cactuses – distasteful but enough to keep our stomachs from complaining. We may encounter Sand Worms again, yes, but we now have a strategy to defeat them. No one may rescue us here, but we still have determination to survive this. So you see, Rikku, with enough thinking every fear can be overcome."

I tried to contemplate on all the things he said. He was right. With enough thinking, we could still survive the Dead Sand. I looked at him, and he looked back at me. Then I remembered something.

"...I take my words back." I admitted to him.

"What words?"

I bit my lip to prevent my cheeks from reddening."When I said I hated you and didn't want to be stuck here with you."

"Ah. What made the change of heart? I admit I earned those words fairly."

"Yeah, well... I also did some rethinking. See, if it was Wakka or Tidus I was stuck with, we would have been dead in the first day because of their stupid ideas. Especially Wakka, he'd always be stubborn towards me and get himself killed even if I try to help because I am just a heathen to him. If it was Lulu or Yuna, we would have been so fearful of the Sand Worms that it would've stopped us from moving at all, and we would've died in hunger and dehydration as well, refusing to eat fiend carcasses."

"That leaves Kimahri or me." He concluded prematurely.

I smiled, wanting to share to him my comparison for them both. "Kimahri… Kimahri would be the same as you. He'd always risk his life to protect me too and get us out of here. Buuuut – he is too quiet! I will die from his insane silence, no matter how many Ronso jokes I crack."

"...So I won because there was no other choice you liked?" Auron asked, pretending to be hurt but still smiling.

"Well, you still won at least, silly." I lightly pushed his forehead with my pointing finger. He chuckled genuinely, a deep rumble that resonated in his chest that told me he didn't expect what I just did to him.

I didn't know what it was when I was with Auron. We seemed to be more carefree when we were with each other, or specifically, alone in each other's company. He seemed to talk more freely, and I seemed to be more at ease when I was with him. At least, that was how I saw it. We may fight, we may argue, we may call each other names, but at the end of the day, there was no one in the party that I trusted more than him. He was… I did not know what he was, and I did not know if I could put a name to it right now. Maybe I was feeling a bit tired as well to even contemplate what we were. But today, he risked his life for me to save me without hesitation, without an inch of care for his own life.

And I never thanked him for that yet.

"Auron…" I called for his attention since he closed his good eye again. I knew that perhaps he was still a bit tired and drained due to the Sand Worm almost digesting him and sucking out his energy, but I wanted to get something out of my chest as soon as possible.

"What is it, Rikku?" He asked, opening his good eye again.

I looked straight into his good brown eye. The warmth in it never faded. "Thank you. For saving me from the Sand Worms."

"If I had let the Sand Worms eat you, Rikku, I don't think I'd be welcomed in the Al Bhed Home with open arms." He replied high and mighty again, like he always did.

"Hey! I'm serious, you know." I lightly pounded his chest with my fist.

"You are forgetting that you were the one that saved both of us, Rikku. Do not demean the skill you brought on the table." He caught my fist gently, but never let go and looked at me again. "Though it still makes me wonder what you did to the new Sand Worm? Specifically to the one that swallowed and regurgitated me out."

"When… it swallowed you, I tried to fight it with regular attacks, but it wasn't working. Then, it took off, as if I wasn't worthy enough to be swallowed. It crawled farther and farther from me, and it was taking you away right before my eyes... and I wanted you back. I wanted you back so bad." I told him, so frantically that I didn't notice that I was already leaning close to him and that my head was inclining to his chest, under his chin, while my hand gripped his left arm tightly. "I felt a surge of energy inside me. I didn't know what it was, but I knew it was immense, like it was building up rapidly. And I wanted it to be out. So I let it out. The next thing I knew, there were meteors falling from the sky aimed towards that Sand Worm."

"Meteor." Auron repeated, and I looked up at him with confusion on my face. He didn't seem to mind that I was leaning close to him and was rather interested more on the events that I told him. He explained further, "A very highly complex black magic. It is a combination of bending space and time to produce a meteor that would deal a deadly, non-elemental damage. Only few black mages know how to cast it."

"Well, I don't know if I could cast it again. I suck at black magic, you know." I shifted a bit to give him room. I didn't want to make him uncomfortable with my proximity suddenly.

"If you did it once, it would be possible that you could do it again." He told me in assurance.

"You think I could be like Lulu?" I wondered aloud.

"All black mages are different. Some have strength in standard black magic. Others thrive in complex ones. Do not aspire to become like Lulu. You have your own identity." He said to me, and just like that, he built my self-esteem again the way only he could do.

"I...Thanks, Auron." I mumbled, trying to hide the blush on my cheeks.

Good thing the man already closed his good eye. In a strained voice he then said, "Forgive me, Rikku, but I feel low on energy. May I rest for a while? We can talk in a few hours."

"Stupid. Why didn't you tell me? 'Course, Auron, feel free to rest." I chided him. Stubborn, hardheaded man. He must have been up for a long time, never resting even with depleted energy, just to guard me until I awoke.

"Thank you, Rikku." He said before closing his good eye and breathing in deeply.

"Auron?"

"Hm?"

"Sleep well." I said to him and smiled even though his good eye was already closed.

"You too." He mumbled, and after a few minutes, he was fast asleep. I spent a few seconds studying his face again. It was surprisingly more relaxed. It was a carefree sight that I often did not see and he often did not let others notice.

Feeling completely safe with him just beside me, I let my eyes close too and urged my mind to go back to dreamland.

xxxxx

It was a different sound that woke me up this time. It was a combination of a deep moan and a silent sob. I thought I just imagined the sound, but when it happened again, I realized that it came from Auron.

"Mother… No, please, don't kill her…" He moaned in what seemed like a strangled voice. I suddenly knew that he was having a nightmare. "Auron? Hey, Auron?" I sat up, shaking his shoulder to wake him up. I did it a few times but to no avail. He was deeply trapped in his nightmare.

"Father, help me… Please…" He moaned again, incredibly pained and hurt. It was highly disturbing in its strangeness. I had never seen him like this before, and never will I wish to see him in this state again.

"Wake up, Auron!" I shouted with determination. He really needed to snap out of this, or this kind of nightmare will consume his mind. I pounded his chest strongly a couple of times, but his reflexes were quick and strong, and he was suddenly on top of me, his hands choking the air out of me.

"I WILL KILL ALL OF YOU!" He screamed, his hold over my neck tightening and tightening.

"A-Auron! Auron, it's me…. It's Rikku! LET GO!" I tried to utter sounds as he strangled me bit by bit. But it was no use. "AURON! LET GO OF ME!" I struggled again, trying to grab away his hands from my throat. He was really choking me. I was losing air, and I knew he might kill me if I didn't do something to wake him up soon.

I desperately tried to grab something I could use to hit him with. On my right, I felt a medium size stone within my reach. Within seconds, I flung it at him, hitting him square on the temple with a loud thud, so strongly that it pushed him back and loosened his grip on my neck. Blood started to run down his fhead. When Auron came to, he realized his hands were on my neck, and he immediately retreated far away from me.

"What did…?" He immediately lost his words, breathing heavily and too shocked when he realized that he hurt me. He looked at both of his hands as if he wanted to chop them off.

"Auron… it's ok." I told him, a bit strained while I was nursing my neck. It still hurt, and I knew there will be slight bruises, but I didn't want him to feel bad when it was just an accident. "You were having a nightmare. I tried to wake you. But… I guess I should've known that you'd have quick reflexes."

"…Forgive me." He whispered so softly. This was different when he asked for forgiveness the day before. The way he said it this time, it was as if he wasn't expecting me to forgive him at all. I wanted to comfort him. Knowing Auron, I knew he'd feel really bad about something like this. I moved closer to him, but he backed away even more as if he didn't want me anywhere near him.

"Auron. Auron, I'm ok." I took both of his hands, and I felt his chills. I realized then that something was very wrong with him. "It was an accident." I tried to assure him once again.

"I almost killed you..." He said and shook his head.

"And you didn't. Do not come to the conclusion that you did." I reminded him. He was breathing deeply and raggedly, as if trying to get a grip of himself. He was quiet for a few seconds and stared at something very far. I wanted to make light of the situation, so I waved my hands energetically in front of his troubled face. "Hey! Spira to Auron!"

Auron then looked at me, his eyes filled with something akin to so much sadness that I felt my heart constrict at the sight. Immediately, I pushed him to lean on the alcove wall. He looked confused but obeyed without question.

"Alright," I told him. "You definitely need a talk."

"Rikku…" He protested very weakly.

"See, the thing with nightmares, they don't go away unless you share them with another person. And then they become afraid, 'cause you know, they'll be two who could fight the nightmares away. That's what my Mom always said. Know what I mean?" I told him enthusiastically, eager to let his fears come out so I could help him. "So, buster, spill and let Rikku the Nightmare Fighter do her magic!"

After I did my over-enthusiastic spiel, Auron just looked at me as if I had turned blue and grown two Hypello heads over my neck. I laughed at the sight because it was as rare as the thought of my Brother donning pink-laced panties and dancing horribly. But I knew I had to push him so we could start something like psychotherapy in his clearly too traumatized mind.

"Um, ok. Let's start. What was your nightmare about?" I asked him.

"The night my foster parents died." He said with gloom and a hint of hesitation. "I believe I told you about it already."

I nodded my head. Yes, he told me about this vaguely in the Thunder Plains. Then he confirmed it in our drive to the Macalania Temple. "But… there was something more, right? Something you haven't told me yet."

"Yes. How I survived."

It was like a light bulb switched on in my head. I never really did think about that certain event when Auron told me about his past. He was only eight years old back then, and now the certain mystery on how young Auron survived such a tragedy intrigued me.

"How did you survive that night, Auron?" I asked him gently, knowing that this certain memory would be painful for him. Maybe he never really had anyone to talk to about it profoundly, and that was why it was still haunting him even in his nightmares.

It took a few minutes before he responded to my question, and I waited patiently every second.

"When they killed my parents in front of me… they said they wanted to play a game with me. We lived in the temple quarters, you see, and in its back lie the forest of Vakarus. They had set me free there, told me to run as fast as I can. Their intentions were to make me a prey and they, the hunters. It was the dead of night. I couldn't see anything, but they had night vision equipment. In fear, I tripped, fell, and stumbled noisily as I ran for my life. They were silent, and I could hear their gunshots aimed far from me as if toying with me and creating more fear. For a moment, I wanted to give up. To let them kill me. But I remembered how they killed my parents, and I wanted to fight them for revenge even if I knew it would be a losing battle."

Auron stopped to look at me. I stayed silent, wanting him to continue his story. He looked away from my stare and continued.

"I ran to the forest shed, where my father, Amias, used to store a small sword. But they caught up with me before I could take the small sword out. One of them saw it, picked it up, and charged towards me. Filled with so much adrenaline and no care, I met it head on. He... stabbed me in the gut, but he was leaning close… or at least his neck was… and so I bit his neck… hard. I hit his jugular vein, and his blood spurt out unstoppably, but I held on, biting and biting at his flesh and veins until he pulled out the small sword from my gut and fell down. The other guy was in shock with what I did. He shot his gun several times at me but his aim was bad, and I was able to get close enough to knock him down and stab him multiple times. He lost consciousness from my assault, but he was still breathing. And I wanted him dead so fiercely, so I brought my hands to his neck and…"

He stopped again. But this time, he brought his hand to my right cheek; his thumb brushing away tears that I didn't notice were flowing.

"Forgive me. This must be already too horrible." He said somberly.

I covered his hand on my cheek with my own hand, knowing that it was only through touch that I could give comfort. "No. It's just that… you went through so much. How come you still blame yourself for your parents' deaths?"

"It was I who brought those murderers to the temple quarters. It was the height of racial war in Spira. Many strangers were living in Vakarus, migrants and refugees of every races, others who might have had hidden agendas. My parents told me not to go out without their company. But I didn't listen; instead I snuck out of our home to be able to play with my friends. They… found me and cornered me in the town's alleys, threatened to kill me if I didn't give them food and money. I told them I have none, they said my house should have some. And I... I… feared for my life, so I led them to the temple quarters, and the rest you know already. But if I had faced them without fear that time in that alley, and if I probably had just let them kill me… then my parents… they would've never died in those murderers' hands."

I knew that feeling all too well. The guilt of having caused something. The regret of not doing the opposite of what was advised by others. I didn't know that Auron and I had this in common. Wanting to let him know that he was not alone in this, I shared my deepest secret. "I blamed myself for my Mom's death too. I mean, sometimes, I still do."

He was definitely shocked by my confession. His face never hid it. "Why…?"

I withdrew his hand on my cheek, but I never stopped holding it. "Because I too… blame myself for my Mom's death." I told him, mindful not to let myself cry at the memory.

"How?"

"I was five, and I was playing with highly unstable machina components. Pops… he left a machina in the garage. He told me seriously that I shouldn't touch it, but curiosity got the best of me. I had a core power source I was toying with, and the machina's power slot looked compatible. But it wasn't. The next thing I knew, I was in the Home's hospital bed. Pops said the machina exploded with positronic beams because of the incompatibility of the core power source I inserted. The initial blast pushed me out of the succeeding explosions. My Mom though… she was cooking in the dirty kitchen next to the garage. The struts of the house fell over her due to the explosions and…"

I stopped for a second, wanting to repress the hurt that reliving this memory gave me.

"Pops never blamed me, you know. But for the longest time I blamed myself. Many people extended their sympathies. Told me it happens, these machina accidents. And I tried to connect with people, especially with Pops and with Brother. But I had this feeling that made me feel separate... that felt like I was –"

"All alone in this world –" He suddenly said.

"Like wishing I was never born –" I nodded and added.

"Like wishing what happened had killed you instead…" He continued with certainty. "Do you still feel that way?"

I shook my head lightly. "I didn't know what it was. But… one day a thought came to my mind. Like a voice or a whisper. That my Mom wouldn't want me to keep blaming myself. That she still loved me in spite of what happened. I know it's hard, but… do not blame yourself anymore, Auron. I know your parents would never do."

"It is difficult, Rikku. I am not sure I could not..." He said, and I knew it was the same as confessing his weakness.

"I know. But think of your parents. They wouldn't want that for you. They would want you to remember them not just in that night, but before that. My Mom, she was always happy, you know. She had countless stories, endless jokes. And when she died, there was only silence in the house. As if she took all the laughter with her passing. I missed her so much… so I tried to look for ways to make Pops and Brother happy. The first joke I cracked with them, they smiled. And I wanted to see their smiles even more. Then it sort of grew on me. Wanting to be happy." I paused and saw him looking at me. Out of curiosity, I asked him, "Tell me, what were your parents like, Auron?"

"…I was their adopted, but they loved me like I was their flesh and blood. My father, Amias, he was very kind, not for Yevon's sake, but for goodness itself. He could never say anything bad about anyone. He liked books. I remember he had a room in the temple quarters dedicated for it. It was on every subject Spira has. Geography, history, magic, politics, novels, and philosophy. He was always reading, and he read to me every night. My mother, Agape, she loved music. She could play every instrument, the harp, flute, and strings. She would always sing and compose songs about love and friendship and family, and then she would ask me how they were. I always told her they were lovely, and every time she sang I asked for more –"

Then he suddenly paused, as if wanting to say something else but could not. Instead, he shook his head and smiled. "Thank you, Rikku."

"What for?" I wondered. I didn't think I did anything praise-worthy except to ask a few questions about his past.

"It has been a long, long time since I remembered my parents. I thought these memories were already lost on me."

So that was the reason, I realized. The bad memories he had about his family suppressed and overpowered the good ones he had. So much, that he only remembered the bad things now, continuously haunting his head like ghosts that would not leave. I wanted to share this discovery I learned about him, but I guess, it would be better if I just help him uncover his buried good memories, so he would have strength to fight off his bad memories from now on.

"Hm. They're always with us, you know. That is the magic of love, especially their love, I guess. It lives on and comforts us even when they're not alive to do so themselves." I told him, feeling unbelievably weird that I was the one sharing words of wisdom this time.

"I see." He said, while trying to stop his light chuckle.

"What? You don't believe me?" I asked him, pretending to be a little hurt.

"No. My apologies, Rikku, please do not take it the wrong way. It's just that… you surprise me." Auron said sincerely, trying to clear out the misconception I took from him. "There was just more things about you that I didn't know, I suppose."

"Heh. That goes the same for you, you grouchy Warrior Monk." I said in jest. I was about to add something more when I heard a familiar sound over the distance. "Hey, wait – did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" He asked, and I seriously wondered if he had gone deaf from the Sand Worm almost digesting him. I knew I heard something.

I stood up immediately, following the sound and wishing that I was not imagining things. It didn't go away, instead it became louder and louder, intensifying after every second. I knew that sound by heart. It was the sound of a combusting piston engine and rotor blades slicing the air. Definitely! I was sure of it. Brother and I were working on that machina right after we uncovered the airship in Baaj. It was still under development from what I knew, but I was sure glad it was working now.

"The rotorcraft!" I said aloud and rushed from the confines of our alcove to the outside. And there it was a black dot on the horizon. "Auron, come! It's the Al Bhed Rangers! Quickly! They're here!"

He followed me out of the alcove, and then we were jumping and shouting at the top of our lungs. Then as if sensing our presence, the rotorcraft turned to our direction. I couldn't contain my excitement, and I jumped and waved my hands and shouted even more. Second after second, it became clearer that they were the Al Bhed Rangers. They came to rescue us.

We were saved, and I was finally going home.

 **AN: So how do you like this chapter? Hope it justifies the long, long time it took to write and was well worth it. Drop a review and let me know. As usual, some notes for things in the chapter:**

 **Cred = "Shit"**

 **Vilg! = "Fuck"**

 **Vilgehk ramm = "Fucking hell"**

 **Some of the Al Bhed technology I described here is derived from air navigation and flying which I just tweaked to suit the story. (I used to fly small airplanes for fun). The omni things are derived from the actual device called VOR. In real life, it is not buried in the ground, but situated on a control tower. The magnetic deviation is also one phenomenon that happens when flying in continents with magnetic anomalies, or near magnetic poles. If you are interested, you can google them. They're interesting stuff.**

 **As I said before, the romantic development between Auron and Rikku will take time. I can't make them just smooch each other senseless, but this chapter was specifically designed to make Auron see Rikku as more than a hyperactive teenager. He needed to get past his preconceived notion of immaturity regarding her. Rikku also needed to know that she has the ability to save Auron, not just the other way around.**

 **Where's Yuna and Tidus? One more Auron POV in Bikanel, and we'll get those lovebirds back. My idea is that Bikanel is Auron and Rikku's moment, while Bevelle and the coming night in Moonflow are Yuna's and Tidus'. So, stay tuned! Cheerios, everyone!**


	26. Into Dust and Ashes

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Square Enix. I just play with their characters. Familiar dialogues came from the game script.**

 **AN: Oh my gosh! Please don't hate me! (It literally is my birthday today, so as an act of good faith, please don't hate me!). I know it has been a long time since I posted. And I am truly sorry. Things have just been hellish the past half a year with work and some personal stuff. I battled waves of ups and downs mentally. (I have this condition society frowns upon. I could say it here because hey, I'm anonymous). Sometimes the downs were so debilitating that I could not pick the pen up (or in this case, switch on my laptop and go to the word processor). Still I'm happy that I could release a new chapter after such a long time, and on my birthday as well! I hope you guys have not grown tired of waiting.**

 **If you are and you no longer know what's going on in the story, this is still Auron and Rikku in Bikanel after getting rescued by the Al Bhed Rangers in the Dead Sand. It's still a hellova 17,000 word ride, so I hope this makes up for a long term absence. So step right in and read, my good fellas!**

 **Chapter 26: Into Dust and Ashes**

 _ **Auron**_

"I never thought I'd be so happy to see your stupid face!" Rikku ran and hugged Brother tightly as soon as he was within her reach. They giggled and laughed together, and Brother gave Rikku a nogging to which she responded with a grimace. The two seemed so glad to see each other again. I couldn't blame them. Being a Guardian wasn't always sunshine and roses, believe me. But more than that, these two had differing beliefs on how to save Spira. But the absence of each other and the danger the Dead Sand implied seemed to have replaced the animosity that brewed between them when we were in Macalania.

Brother, whose real name was really Brother from what I gathered from Rikku, was a lean, young man of five foot ten. I did not get a close look at him back in Macalania, but now that I saw him, he seemed more than your average Al Bhed. He had blonde, mohawk hair, and he wore circular earrings and a gunmetal jumpsuit with red suspenders. Tattoos of red, blue, and yellow adorned his body all over. Because of this, you could easily surmise that he was a typical rebel. But on the other hand, weren't all Al Bhed's rebels in some way or another? A minority that just wanted a place in Spira.

Brother spoke in Al Bhed animatedly, gesturing wildly with his hands. The excitement of seeing his younger sister alive was evident. He had three other companions with him, dressed in soldier uniforms. Rangers, I supposed, huddled near the open door of the rotorcraft.

"No one gets stuck in the Dead Sand and lives to tell the tale. Consider us the first!" Rikku proudly said, beaming from ear to ear. She responded to Brother's questions in Spiran. I believed she was doing this for my sake, as I never really found the time and desire to learn the intricate language of the Al Bhed's. This stemmed from the fact that Braska always did the translating for me every now and then when we had ventured in their territories. Even Raenn, Yuna's mother, used to say that I was hopeless in learning her native tongue.

One male young adult broke from the group and moved closer to Rikku. Most probably a friend of Brother's. He wore a slightly different Ranger garb of all black, and he had thick goggles of a solid color over his eyes. An assault rifle hung over his back. Judging from his features, he must be the Al Bhed's very own version of Special Ops. He immediately spoke in Al Bhed to Rikku, and then he looked at the bruises on her neck with suspicion and glared at me.

Ah, now he thought I did it. Which really was the case. If my heart was still alive, it would have skipped a few beats. I suddenly felt even guiltier for what happened between Rikku and me in the alcove.

"N-Nothing, Gippal. Just got them from fighting fiends, is all." Rikku answered, all smiles and happiness. I felt a sense of relief with her trying to protect me. But the guy, Gippal, wouldn't back down. He continued to interrogate Rikku in Al Bhed while strangely glaring at me.

"What! Of course not. He is Auron. The Legendary Guardian. We guard Yunie in her pilgrimage. Sin came to Macalania, and it drew us in some freaky vacuum and suddenly we landed here..." Rikku said, and I wondered why she had to explain herself again to her Brother and to this Gippal. Brother nodded in affirmation and commented some more in Al Bhed.

"The others? They're with you?" Rikku's eyes lit up, and she smiled at me regarding the great news she heard. "Auron, did you hear that? The Rangers in the Western Outpost found Tidus and the others. Pops said to bring them to the Al Bhed Home."

"And Yuna?" I didn't know what came over me to ask about her. But a pilgrimage was not a pilgrimage without its Summoner.

"Safe." Brother said in Spiran this time. He looked like he was about to say more, but he stopped when he noticed Gippal looking at me very strangely again. The way he stared at me made me feel like he wanted to aim his assault rifle at me and fire it. I looked back at him calmly, silently wondering what his problem was.

Then he broke his gaze, shook his head, and patted Brother on his shoulder. They motioned to the side of the rotorcraft and talked in Al Bhed very quietly. Rikku and I looked at each other, wondering at this peculiar phenomenon. Afterwards, when they came back, Brother suddenly looked at me with contempt. Just what was happening? They walked towards us, and Rikku felt the same air of tension but tried to make light of it.

"So, umm… guys? Can we go to Home now? I really need a shower. I think I stink worse than an Ochu's fart." Rikku said, smiling and definitely determined to break the tension in the air. Brother smiled back at her and nodded. I had thought all was right, and I was just imagining that strange feeling in my gut, until…

Three of the Rangers suddenly attacked me. One punched my abdomen, the other hit me at the back of my head. My reflexes went automatic, and I was about to counter their attacks and draw my broad katana when I felt a high-voltage surge of electricity ran its course in my body. The guy, Gippal, stabbed me behind my back with some sort of electricity-producing metal fork. I cried out in pain as the electricity felt like it was burning my veins. Rikku went wide-eyed with confusion and was about to help me, but Brother grabbed her arm in a tight grip. Gippal kicked me down and cuffed my hands as I laid face front on the ground.

"Wait! What are you doing? Let him go! Brother!" Rikku screamed at Brother as he dragged her to the rotorcraft. "Brother!"

Gippal pulled me upwards from the ground and pushed me to walk to the rotorcraft. When I stubbornly did not move, he kicked the back of my knee forcefully. Then he made me board the part of the rotorcraft where there was a metal divider from the main fuselage – the one used for captured prisoners, I supposed. I saw Rikku wildly reasoning with her Brother, until she was tranquilized by one of the Rangers.

Gippal sat across me, glaring with so much hatred. I couldn't understand why, but it was the last image I saw as he hit me with a large dose of tranquilizer as well.

xxxxx

A splash of freezing water woke me up. Even the air around me was freezing, a strange thing to happen in Bikanel. I suddenly wondered if I was somewhere else. I blinked my eyes and struggled to orient myself with my surroundings. First, I was suspended around fifteen feet in the air, my wrists chained to a mechanism that was connected to a high ceiling. Second, I was naked with only my underwear on. Third, I noticed that I was in some sort of abandoned building. Rusted steel decorated the walls, beams, and pipes. The fourth? Gippal was looking back at me with a murderous intent in his eyes again.

"What are you doing...?" I mumbled, my voice hoarse from the unwanted sleep the tranquilizer gave me.

Gippal smirked, finding my moment of vulnerability amusing. "An easy game. I ask, you answer. Don't answer? You're gonna get shocked big time and end up as a vegetable. Simple, really." He clicked his tongue as he said his last statement and gestured to the contraption beside him: two levers and knobs with wires connected to the cables that suspended me. The whole thing felt surreal, like an unwanted nightmare. Yet Gippal's cold smile told me this was reality, and he was not new to this.

Torture? I had been in this situation before when I was a soldier of Bevelle, and this did not faze me. What worried me though was I did not know what this was for. I had long been retired from Bevelle's active defense forces. Not to mention, wasn't there a peace treaty between Al Bhed and Bevelle? An assault of this kind already counted as a breach of the ethical conduct for the bilateral agreement of the two nations. Uncertain of these questions, I struggled with the bonds on my wrists that hung me from the high ceiling. The steel shackles rang as they rubbed against each other.

"It's not gonna fall off, and there's a magic dampener. You're not gonna break free from there no matter what you do." Gippal sneered, and I had some peculiar feeling in my gut that he was enjoying this.

"Why am I here?" I asked, my voice sounding clearer despite my confusion. _Where is Rikku? I need her._

Gippal only shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. Ask yourself, Yevonite Dog."

"You think I'm a spy from Yevon? You're wrong. I'm just Yuna's Guardian." I told him with conviction. Just what was going on?

"Not according to history. But let's get beyond that and delve into the matters at hand." Gippal shook his head. He walked near the contraption before us. And then, he turned some knobs and adjusted some things. I braced myself as he looked at me with an evil, predatory grin.

"Yevon will attack Bikanel. How and when?" He asked, piercing the silence masked by the humming of the machina contraption he was near at.

So that was what this was all about, and I finally understood. I, myself, never heard from the rumor mills of any plans of Bevelle to start a war with the Al Bhed again. Then again, it was always the Al Bhed's preventive forces that discover the information, hide it, and act on it covertly. Finally receiving some clarity for the situation and finding some footing, I stared back into Gippal's green, swirl-patterned eyes. I saw determination there, but inside I knew he was still your average green Special Ops. All training, but no actual experience. How could he have one? There had been peace for the past two decades between the Al Bhed's and Yevon. He probably thought this was just all play. The real soldier life still had not hit him square in the head yet. He was like a little girl playing house with her dolls.

I could not contain myself and laughed loudly at the thought. Gippal suddenly looked alarmed at my change of mood.

"What is it? What's so funny!?" He demanded to know, a crack in his cool facade. And it was just what I thought. Evidently, he still had no scars from the battlefield; instead, he was easily angered and ready to claw out like a cornered wolf that was determined to prove himself otherwise.

"Kid. If they're gonna attack you, you shouldn't be wasting tim–" I wasn't even able to finish my sentence when he shocked me with electricity at full force. It ran its course all over my wet body, from my fingertips to my spine and my toes. How much voltage was it? I could not estimate, but the pain felt like I was being hit with a Thundaga ten times more brutal than what Lulu could cast. I screamed at the pain. By the time Gippal stopped, I was out of breath and panting. My world seemed to be moving up and down and round and round.

Gippal was speaking again, but I could only catch a few phrases. There was too much ringing in my ears. "...Do you think I'm kidding? Tell me! How and when!?"

"I'm not... with Yevon anymore..." I mumbled almost incoherently, finding it hard to even speak.

But Gippal clicked his tongue again, arrogance taking over his previously angry features. "Not a very good answer. Look to your right, Yevonite Dog. That's what he said as well. Until I made him speak. Took a while, but I got there."

I looked below to the right and saw a dead, middle-aged man with eyes carved out of him and his fingers and toes maimed. He had blonde hair and was wearing Al Bhed undergarments. At first I thought it was an Al Bhed that defected to Bevelle. Usually that would happen. Bevelle would buy the poorest of the Al Bhed's at a price and would force them to be low-level spies. But I noticed something that disproved my hypothesis. There was a brand of the mighty Evrae's head with two daggers at the center marked on his posterior shoulder area. This was the symbol of the intelligence unit, Anonymous, under Bevelle's most confidential and controversial defense division, Black Corps. Evrae's head pertained to the unit's ability to be all-seeing, like the Bevelle's mighty guardian dragon on a bird's eye view. Their mission? To infiltrate enemy lines and observe over and over and over. Because knowledge was power, an overture in a symphony of war.

"See, Yevon's gathering all their old forces. All their beloved Anonymous from the once dissolved Black Corps are moving on missions. This one's smart. He disguised as an Al Bhed and was planted here. A mole observing everything about us. Just like what happened in the racial war. But do you think the Al Bhed's don't remember?"

"Like I said, kid. I am not with Yev–"

"Cut the crap! Don't speak like we don't know what you were before!" Gippal shouted as he shocked me again. I bit my lip, hoping to divert the pain, but it did not do any good. Blood just spilled out of my mouth and nostrils as my muscles convulsed again and again. When it became too much, I finally screamed again, piercing the air with my growls of pain. After a minute of that hellish agony, Gippal stopped the flow of electricity. He was looking at me, but my eyes were already too blurry to see him. He spoke again, "It won't be long until those in the Shadow Unit act as well. Now tell me, what are Bevelle's plans?"

"...I do not know." I answered him clearly as best as I could, all the while praying to all Fayths that Rikku come and save me.

"Liar! Liar! LIAR!" Gippal shouted again and again, and then he suddenly touched his head with both of his palms as if he was immediately suffering from an incoming stroke or a very painful migraine. He fell to his knees cradling his head and bowed down to the ground, screaming in pain. If I wasn't feeling immensely hurt from the multiple electric shocks he gave me, I would have been worried for him. Instead, I found my voice and spoke the statement that I hoped would vindicate me.

"I know nothing. We both know that. Who is the one lying between us here...?"

Upon hearing that, Gippal screamed again as he pounded the ground with his fists several times. "YOU'RE THE LIAR! YOU'RE THE LIAR! " He glared at me with dilated green eyes that lost their swirling patterns. His blue-green veins suddenly showed and lined and etched the skin on the side of his eyes. It was a very unusual sight, something I had never seen from an Al Bhed before. What was this? An Overdrive? He quickly moved to the machina on his right again with the intent to shock me. I closed my eyes to brace myself for another electric surge, sure that it will come any second now until…

"Gippal, let him go!" She burst through the steel doors, with intense anger in her voice. I opened my eyes in surprise. I knew that voice now more than ever, and I gave a sigh of relief upon seeing her.

Gippal spoke quickly in Al Bhed, most probably defending himself, but Rikku marched to him and slapped him square in the face. "OUT! I said get out of here!", she shouted again, but Gippal only yelled more in Al Bhed and then motioned to attack her. Rikku then instantly dodged the assault, found an opening, kicked Gippal in the gut, and drew a knife from his soldier uniform at the same time. In just a few movements, she had him kneeling in submission with her forearm locked on his head, covering his eyes, and the knife pointed on his neck. I felt myself beam in pride. I taught her that move in our break-of-dawn trainings, but she did it flawlessly by adding her own grace and style.

"Hurt him again, and I'll kill you." Rikku threatened Gippal, so sharp and clear, the knife close to his skin that it drew a drop of blood. "Even if you're an Al Bhed, I'll kill you. Do you understand me?"

Gippal hissed and replied coldly in Al Bhed. There was a few seconds of silence between them, until Rikku shook her head and looked at me with teary eyes. I surmised that I must have been quite a horrible sight. Still she smiled at me ruefully afterwards and said back at Gippal, "I don't care. You don't know him like I do." Then she released and pushed him away from her hold.

Gippal stood carefully and grabbed his knife from Rikku. "You'll regret this," he said to her before glaring at me once again.

"Leave us, Gippal." Rikku commanded, and the Special Ops Ranger left without another word.

She moved towards some levers on the wall and pulled it downwards. The cables that suspended me lowered me from where I was hanging. Once I found my footing on the ground, Rikku unlocked the shackles on my wrists and immediately wrapped me in a warm embrace. I hugged her back, both glad to receive human touch and to keep myself from falling down.

"Are you alright? Fayth, Auron… I'm so sorry." She said regrettably as if all that happened to me the past hours was her fault.

"…I'm fine." I told her, though my voice did not sound reassuring. It was terrifyingly cracked as if I had a severe case of yellow fever.

She maneuvered me to sit down on one of the steel benches beside that machina that did nothing but zap me with electricity. She wiped the blood from my nostrils and mouth with a soft cloth. And then she produced three vials of Al Bhed potion. "Silly, you're not fine. Here take these. It will make you feel better."

"...Thank you for coming for me." I said to her, before downing the vials of Al Bhed potion. It did its magic, and the pain I had felt from the torture I endured disappeared gradually. My muscle and joints still felt sore though, but it was something I could handle now.

"You dummy. Of course, I will. I'm not gonna let you suddenly become some sort of a POW, you know. Not when I'm around. Stupid Gippal just thought he could be all hero with this, trying to torture you to get information just because you were a former soldier of Bevelle." Rikku said while gently massaging my hands and arms to relieve the tension in my muscles. What she was doing felt unbelievably good, and I didn't want her to stop, but I was feeling quite embarrassed at my current state of undress.

"Do you have my clothes? I am a little ashamed of..." I tapered off, not wanting to embarrass myself even more by stating the obvious. My whole body was an ugly patchwork of scars, the unwanted, gruesome mementos of my time in the frontlines of the battlefield and numerous life-threatening missions. I was always conscious when they were exposed. And now, with Rikku near, I suddenly felt the need to cover them up.

It was a good thing that she understood. Rikku immediately walked to the south of the room towards a rusty cabinet, and she came back with my trousers, red coat, bracer, and black vest. "Here," She said and handed me my clothes, "Though they don't bother me. The scars, I mean."

I felt my ears turn red. I knew it was silly coming from me, but I said softly, "...They bother me immensely."

Rikku nodded, acknowledging without judgment my ridiculousness. She helped me as I dressed, all the while keeping me up to date of what happened while I was being tortured by Gippal. "Anyway. So I finally caught up with everything. While we were on an adventure in the Dead Sand, things have been on high alert at the Al Bhed Home."

"Gippal did say they had intel that Yevon will attack Bikanel." I mentioned to her, as I stood up and adjusted my belt.

"They already did." Rikku admitted, fear tracing her voice. She smoothed the creases of my red coat on my shoulder, brushing the dust off.

"How?" I asked, failing to reign in my surprise.

"Home lost its force field barriers and stealth shields. They are still studying how it exactly happened. But it was due to a cyber-machina attack; a virus in our cyber network that disabled our first line of defense. It was so powerful and complex, even our mechanics could not bring them back up. But could Yevon even have the ability to do that? Didn't they know nothing about machina? Let alone the inner-workings of complicated cyber-machina?"

I bit my lip, unsure of whether I should tell Rikku the truth about Yevon now or let her discover it by herself. _Yes, Rikku. For fear of what the Al Bhed was capable of, Yevon created their own defense unit who were machina experts, right after the Declaration of Peace between the two nation-states. Even the Basilica of Yevon that housed the Maesters and other Yevon offices were armored with machina now._

"Then I guess Gippal had every right to be suspicious of me." I mumbled instead, while wanting to punch myself at the same time for my cowardice to reveal the truth about Yevon. Why didn't I just tell her?

Rikku shook her head. "No. I vouched for you. As daughter of the reigning Lord of the Al Bhed, he should've listened to me."

"He convinced your brother. Besides, Gippal seems like he loves the Al Bhed Home just as much as you do. He is a soldier, and he had sworn to protect it." I said, trying to be more understanding and objective regarding Gippal's unusual behavior towards me. Yes, that was just it, wasn't it? Nevertheless, an unknown feeling was stabbing me in my gut, but I pushed it away.

"I don't know. We used to be good childhood friends, but ever since he joined the Rangers he changed." Rikku added in a somber tone.

"All the more reason not to hold a grudge against him." I advised Rikku, not wanting her to end her childhood friendship with a fellow Al Bhed just because of what he did to me. Especially now that I had a feeling that my distant past was inevitably creeping up on me, after years of not wanting it to find me and me fleeing away from it. _No, Auron, you didn't need to think of those things right now._

Still, Rikku nodded and smiled at me, all brightness and joy that it made my dead heart tingle again. "Nevertheless, no one hurts my best buddy if I can help it. They'll be sure to receive more than a good smack in the head. Ha!" She punched the air animatedly, and then she patted my shoulder firmly.

Best buddy? I never meant to be like that to her, but… I did miss being a true friend to someone, one without the ties of obligation and dead men's promises. Just a friend for the sake of being a friend. And Rikku's friendship, it would not hurt if I returned it, yes? Although it would certainly be unusual – her being twenty years my junior – Fayth knows that after all these years of Braska's and Jecht's deaths, I needed a friend. So I looked at her as I again digested the words she said. Yes, a _friend_. Rikku would be my friend. It didn't bring shame to the back of my head or to my tongue. Why would it? She was a gentle, pure soul; a rare glimmer of hope in this bleak world. I was already lucky she considered me with this affection. _Her friend._

"Thank you, Rikku." I told her, and the way she smiled at me again told me she knew that I was not just thanking her for saving me from Gippal's torture. I was thanking her for her friendship.

"Anytime, Auron." She replied, her tone welcoming and accommodating. She would always have my back. I knew it now. "So, let's get out of this horrible place, eh?" Rikku winked and stood up, grabbing my hand gently and leading the way.

We walked amicably together out of the torture basement and up to the upper floors of the Eastern Front. I thought all was going to be fine; we would go to the Al Bhed Home, and we will see the rest of the party there, including Yuna. I will have a brief chat with Cid about our current predicament as a Summoner party, and from there, we will resume the pilgrimage.

But then, hell started unleashing itself, accompanied by its terrifying, unforgiving demons.

xxxxx

Before we got to the ground floor of the Eastern Front outpost, numerous sirens started blaring as an alarm. Rikku and I suddenly paused in shock, unsure of what it meant. For sure, it was an emergency, we knew. But of what kind and gravity, the uncertainty lodged deep in our gut. We ran up to the Eastern Front's command center, knowing Brother would be there, never minding the Al Bhed Rangers who were going the opposite direction, mounting on the trucks and speeders around us. Halfway to our run to the command center, we met face to face with Rikku's brother who was clearly distraught and panicking while grabbing necessary items and hauling them over his shoulder; Gippal was by his side guarding him.

"W-What's going on?" Rikku asked, breath panting and confusion in her voice.

Brother's eyebrows furrowed as he turned toward us, handed Rikku a twin-barrel gun, and explained hurriedly in Al Bhed. Afterwards, Rikku started shaking, surprised by her own brother's revelation. "No… Our Home, it can't be…"

A strange feeling finally settled over me as I watched their entire exchange. I understood now that the inevitable had happened. Just as Gippal predicted. Yevon was attacking the Al Bhed, even worse the Al Bhed Home. There was war yet again. The suddenness of this event happening was clearly unexpected though. Being caught off guard was a deadly situation.

It was Gippal who broke the dreaded silence that covered us underneath the air of blaring sirens. And though he looked at me with contempt, I admired him for his awareness and pragmatism. Just how a soldier should be in a time of danger. "We have to get going. Provide backup and rescue anyone we can. That is our mandate." He told Rikku in Spiran. I knew he was also doing it for my sake. If there was a hint of request in his voice though, he hid it very well.

We quickly moved down the stairs and onto the landing port where the rotorcraft that rescued us from the Dead Sand was situated. It was already spinning its blades rapidly ready for departure. We boarded it, silence enveloping us regardless of the haste we were in to gain altitude. When we were at a certain height and distance towards the Al Bhed Home, Rikku and I turned to the open windows and saw the evidence of the catastrophic attack Yevon was doing.

Random fire, explosions, and great pillars of black smoke surrounded the Al Bhed Home's perimeters. Above its majestic machina towers, hundreds of Garudas were circling wildly as if maniacally finding an opportune moment to swoop down and devour any unaware Al Bhed, civilian or Ranger. On the grounds, innumerable Chimeras and Wendigos scattered all over, stomping wildly and charging towards helpless Al Bhed's. As we went even nearer to a relatively safe landing zone, I understood more who was behind it. This was not just by Yevonites. This was by the Guados, certainly under the command of that foul Seymour.

As the rotorcraft landed, Rikku stifled a sob behind me. I understood how hurt she was by all that was happening, and I admired her resolve to be strong. Wanting to comfort her, I placed my hand over hers. She looked at me with fear in her eyes. "We'll find Yuna and our party. Then we'll help in the rescue," I told her. She nodded in agreement, wiping her tears with her forearm.

"We'll evacuate through the Airship by the Basement Hangar 3." Gippal said before hopping off of the rotorcraft, and then he turned towards Brother. "Brother, you'll be needed on the Bridge." Brother nodded in agreement, and then Rikku and I went on separate ways.

"Do you know where we'll go?" I asked Rikku as we ran towards Home through its west gate entrance. Already, signs of bloodshed and casualties surrounded us, with walls torn down and dead bodies on the floor. Gunshots echoed all throughout.

"The Summoner Sanctum. That's where we – that's where we keep them. Yunie and the others must be there." Rikku answered, while leading the way as we moved quickly. I lost count of how many passageways and doors we entered, but naturally I trusted her to know the way inside Home. By the time we turned another corner straight through Home's center, gunshots suddenly became louder. When we went nearer, we saw an old Al Bhed lady and one Al Bhed Ranger firing his gun and desperately fighting for their lives as they were surrounded by two Chimeras.

"Nana! Keyakku!" Rikku shouted as she ran towards them, knowing full well who the two struggling Al Bhed's were. She threw grenades at the two Chimeras which set them back for a few seconds. I used the opening to strike Power Break to the two fiends.

"Run!" I told the two Al Bhed's. They understood and took their leave. I focused myself on the two Chimeras who immediately shifted their heads. The first one turned into a bull, and the other a lion. I shook my head. This was not good. The bull will do an assault and the lion a Megiddo Flame. Knowing this, I moved in front of Rikku and mustered the strongest Guard stance I could. "Take cover behind me!" I said to the little thief and in a matter of a few seconds, what I had just predicted happened.

I recovered from the attack in heaving breaths, and Rikku dove from my cover and shot the two Chimeras on their bull and lion heads with her shotgun. The fiends staggered and decided to shift their heads again. This time, they were a snake and a hawk. Thunder and Aqua Breath, I calculated on my head. We would have to do our best to evade as we had no one who will cast a Shell or a Reflect. I advised Rikku of this, and we readied ourselves to dodge, but in the midst of it all, a horrible scream pierced the air, as if time suddenly slowed for all of us.

It came from the old lady Nana. We looked towards her direction and saw the cause. As they were escaping, a Garuda just swooped down and took Keyakku, its powerful beak crushing his middle. Then the Garuda threw the body from a hundred feet of height. Keyakku landed unceremoniously on the ground and was already dead, I knew.

"Keyakku!" Rikku screamed and moved towards her fellow Al Bhed, not even minding the snake-head Chimera who poised to strike her with a Thundara. I ran towards her and tackled her down, ultimately stopping her from nearly getting struck with the Thundara. Still, Rikku struggled against my hold as we fell down. Still, she wanted to move towards Keyakku's dead body, as if she wanted to be certain herself of his death.

"There's too many of them! We have to run, Rikku!" I said to her, as I helped her up, mindful of the two Chimeras who were about to strike again. "Come on, Rikku!"

Suddenly, a spiked blitzball flew from nowhere and great balls of Firaga emerged over the Chimeras' head, attacking and burning the fiends. Kimahri came in to my peripheral view as he jumped high and prepared for an aerial attack. Tidus dashed and slashed, hitting and hitting the fiends non-stop until they inevitably disappeared into pyreflies. The Garuda that had killed Keyakku spun in the air and launched towards us, and I placed Rikku behind my back to counter its attack, but a burst of cannon stopped it on its flight down before it also dispersed into pyreflies. I looked towards the direction of the projectile and saw another Al Bhed standing far beside a speeder.

It was Cid, the leader of the Al Bhed. Rikku ran towards him, shouting what I could only surmised as 'Father' in their native tongue.

"My little girl! Oh, my little girl! You are alright, aren't you? Brother said he brought you here. I had to do one last round. I had to find you… Thank the Fayth I did!" Cid cried in panic, embracing Rikku tightly and kissing her temple numerous times. After sometime, the Al Bhed leader turned to all of us. "Come on, let's all board the airship. We'll be departing shortly."

"She's not in the Summoner's Sanctum! You told us she was there!" Tidus suddenly yelled at the leader of the Al Bhed, marched towards him, and shoved him hard that he almost stumbled backwards if his feet did not catch him. "Where is she!?" Tidus yelled again, frustration clearly marring his voice. And there was a hint of something else that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Something like guilt and anxiety.

"I do not know! They must have gotten to her before you did! Their attacks were in all directions, things happened so fast. And…" Cid said solemnly, and his eyes fell on the old lady Nana who was walking towards us. Even Tidus fell silent as Nana walked with unspoken grace in our midst. "Nana… I am glad to see you. Let us get you out of here quickly..." Cid told her.

"Oh, Cid. It's about time… but Keyakku…" The old Al Bhed lady motioned her hand towards the dead body lying on the ground a few yards before us. Cid understood and walked towards it, knelt down, and cradled Keyakku's head. Then Cid kissed his forehead, staying for a few seconds, before laying the body back on the ground again.

"Your sacrifice will not be in vain, my brethren." Cid whispered, the mask of a formidable leader gone, replaced by a despair-stricken face. Then he stood up wiped the tears from his eyes and spoke again with more sharpness and clarity. "I do not know where Yuna is. But we have to board the Airship now, before we all lose the ability to find her."

"Then let's go." I spoke, both urging the party to follow Cid's advice and validating the need for it. I looked at Tidus' wild eyes for his agreement, but he glared at me. An unusual thing. Something must have happened while I was not with him. But now is not the right time to talk to him.

"Right. To Basement Hangar 3." Cid ran, and we all followed as he led the way past locked doors, passageways, and underground floors. We met fiends along the way, but our ultimate priority was to flee. I situated myself in front of the party, ready to strike an opening against fiends that blocked our paths. Kimahri tailed at the end, mindful of the fiends that were desperate enough to follow us. Soon after, we found ourselves in the Home's Basement Hangar 3 where a huge airship was sitting with its double door entrance opened wide. An Al Bhed Ranger in black garb was waiting and gave Cid a salute before asking something in Al Bhed.

"They are the last I could find, General Zurh." Cid looked at us before admitting downheartedly. The Al Bhed Ranger, Zurh, nodded and led us to the bridge of the airship after closing its entrance doors.

The bridge of the airship was everything I remembered an airship in Zanarkand was. There was a huge holographic, interactive sphere in the middle, and a main pilot seat at the far front occupied by Brother. Below was the second deck for assistant pilots, and a blue screen for visuals was right on our line of sight. However, when I fixed my eyes at the corner near the wall, I saw a Guado commander cuffed to a railing with Gippal beside him. Cid naturally noticed it.

"What's he doing here?" Cid asked Gippal.

"Hostage for interrogation, Sir. He's a Commander and may provide us valuable information." Gippal answered firmly. "Do not worry, I silenced him of his magic."

Cid glared at the Guado Commander before moving to the glowing sphere in the middle of the bridge. General Zurh walked towards him with indescribable worry in his features.

"Cid, were you able to fix the ICBMs?" Zurh asked.

"No. I couldn't do anything about it." Cid answered curtly, not even drawing his eyes away from the glowing sphere before him. He tapped on the sphere a few times, and then he turned to his son, Brother. "Circuits on left wing and right wing, checked! Stabilizers, checked! Propeller speed, checked!"

"But you know what that would mean right? To Yevon, and to the rest of Spira?" Zurh asked again, and I furrowed my eyebrows in trying to understand their exchange. Just what was happening? What was Cid hiding?

"We're better off escaping this hellhole first." Cid insisted. And then he shouted again to the flight crew, "Fuselage, secured! Proceed to engine and reactor check!"

"Pops… what about the ICBMs? What are you not telling us?" Rikku finally asked her father. Worry and confusion were on her features at the same time. Cid looked at her with downcast eyes. He breathed deeply, mustering strength to say what he had to say.

"Starting the charge of reactors with graviton cores!" An assistant pilot on the lower deck announced.

"…The virus in our cyber-network, they were not just meant to lower our stealth shields and barriers. They spawned like little devils and infiltrated our defense network, mainly our three ICBMs, triggering a launch to Yevon's major cities such as Luca, Bevelle, and Besaid." Cid said, resigned and overwhelmed, while palming his face with his right hand.

"You mean to say…?" Rikku said, realization hitting her. All the while assistant pilots below deck were preparing for takeoff and shouting statuses.

"Charging reactors up to thirty percent!" One said.

"Yevon would like to let the rest of Spira think that we started the war. They are covering their tracks on this attack, pinning on us that we did the first strike to justify themselves."

"Couldn't we do something about it?" Rikku asked his father desperately, panicking at this new revelation. Seymour and Yevon, there was no more doubt in my mind that they were such evil bastards. The Al Bhed did not deserve any of this. No one deserved any of this.

"I tried, Rikku. I could not undo it, even from Home's command center. The virus created a tight deadlock."

"Charging now at fifty percent! Preparing wings for takeoff!" Another assistant pilot announced.

"But all those people… they'll die, Pops!" Rikku exclaimed.

"We'll have to face the aftermath when we get there. For now, we have to escape from here. The best thing we could hope for is to fly far away in due time and fire our Mana Cannons at our own Home to stop the launch." Cid advised her daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder to placate her.

So there was still a way. It was a long shot, but it was all we got, and all we could ever hope for. I looked at the other Guardians beside me as we watched the scenes unfold. Wakka had his hands on his head, uncertain of what to do. Tidus was gripping the railing so hard with his hands. Lulu looked far away in the bridge with fear. Kimahri stood beside me with head bowed down. And I? I was never a believer, but I prayed silently to an unknown deity to help us and the Al Bhed's in this disaster. _Just help them, please._

"Sir, we are at a stand-still! Graviton core charges stopped at fifty." Silence enveloped the bridge as the assistant pilot announced the issue.

"What!? Check if power is good enough for emergency lift-off." Cid answered back, and everyone held their breath as the assistant pilot checked the system for what Cid asked.

"Negative, Sir. We are still at too weak of a charge for an emergency take-off thrust."

"Dammit! Dammit to hell!" Cid pounded the keyboard in front of him numerous times in frustration. In an instant he lost the swirl patterns on his eyes and blue-green veins etched on the sides of his face, near the temples. It was the same ability again that I saw in Gippal's earlier. Cid hunched and quickly tapped away on the keyboard on the bridge, and the blue screens flashed diagrams and statistics and statuses I could not understand. Afterwards, Cid stood straight up and breathed deeply, an unnatural calm settling over him. "Right…" He muttered to no one. And then, more clearly now, "Right, I'll go back in, relay an electric surge from our power plants to spark the reactors back. You guys get it to emergency lift-off charge and then take off, alright?"

"What? No! You're not going back in there! Restart the charging, instead!" Rikku quickly countered, horrified by the idea of her father going back inside the hell the Home had become.

"Rikku, I have to. This airship needs energy to fly, and it needs to take off right now." Cid insisted firmly.

"But… but there are fiends! How will you–?" Rikku stammered, her hands and body blocking her father's advance.

Cid then placed both of his hands on the each side of Rikku's head and kissed her forehead. "I'll be fine, sweetie. I believe I even have cooked up an idea to stop the ICBM's from launching. I can redirect the electric surge which can cause an alarm and an override authority in the system. And then, I will speed out of the Home using our escape speeders. It's a great plan, and I'll be fine."

"Pops… don't go." Rikku pleaded, though I knew that there was nothing she could do about it anymore. Cid's mind was made up, and once it was, there was no stopping the fierce Al Bhed leader.

"Trust me, sweetheart, ok?" Cid said one more time, and Rikku finally stepped aside and gave way. I, on the other hand, blocked Cid's path with a clear objective.

"I'll accompany you." I told the Al Bhed leader firmly, but he only scoffed it off and twisted his hand-held cannon that hung over his shoulder and readied his radio.

"Your job is to protect them and Yuna, Guardian. Not me." Cid said. We looked at each other square in the eye, and I understood right then and there his hidden request. "Just follow Braska's orders." He added, as he motioned to walk towards the airship's entrance doors.

Nevertheless, General Zurh followed after him. "It would be an honor to give you assistance on this, Cid."

"Thank you, Zurh." Cid nodded to his general, and then over his shoulder, he called out. "Brother, at seventy, you fly, capiche?"

"No, please, Pops, don't leave–" Rikku pleaded once more, and I grabbed her hand and shook my head. Tears ran down freely on her face now, and I wished silently for some other way. But no, some things just had to be done. I knew Cid knew it too.

"I'll be back, Rikku. I promise." Cid smiled at her before turning his head to another direction and running off with his general, Zurh.

Those were his last words as I shut the entrance doors of the airship and led Rikku back to the bridge.

The radio transmission every now and then cracked the silence that filled the bridge of the airship when Cid and Zurh left. The flight crew connected the radio to the bridge's loud speakers, and we heard every step of the Al Bhed leader's way to the command center of the Home. From time to time, Cid's footsteps and the sound of his hand-held cannon and Zurh's firing filled the room. Cid would explain where he was and what fiends blocked their path. I tried to make myself useful by providing knowledge on how to divert the fiends' attention and create an opening for them to flee immediately. This repeated for fifteen minutes, until we heard a loud bang of doors. Cid explained that he and Zurh were on the emergency elevator shaft connecting to the command center. They had made it, and they were relatively safe. Things went silent for a minute, until a visual of him and Zurh on the bridge's screen popped up.

"Alright, team! Zurh and I are in command. Just a few clicks here and there, and I'm rerouting and feeding energy to you. Brother, read back to me your take-off gauge." Cid said, our visual was of him tapping on the keyboards frantically in front of him.

"No more stand-still. Charging now up by fifty-four percent." Brother answered back in broken Spiran for all our sakes. An audible sigh was heard from the flight crew. At least things were going according to plan now.

"Ah, good! Good! Then just a wee bit more from Cactuar Sand's power plant. How's that? Read back to me." Cid ordered once again as he adjusted something from the command center using his keyboard. There was a trace of relief in his voice.

"Up now by sixty-five!" Rikku answered. "Sixty-eight!"

"Great! Brother, ready your hand at the throttle, just like in our flight simulation, remember?" Cid advised, proud and smiling. "I've opened the hangar doors."

"Seventy! Ready for lift-off!" Brother pushed the throttle and the airship started lifting off of the ground. The bridge shook and everyone headed to the railings for stability. As we climbed out of the Basement Hangar 3, the visuals of the left and right screens before us changed into a view of the Bikanel sky. Cid's image was still on the center with him still typing commands on his keyboard.

"Pops, we're out! Now, come back here, please! We'll wait near the Cactuar Sands." Rikku pleaded over the speakers. But Cid just shook his head, and he kept tapping away on the command center with utmost concentration.

"Brother, keep flying until you reach farther and farther than the hundred nautical mile mark. You hear me?"

Brother started to protest in Al Bhed and spoke hurriedly, but his father cut him off angrily. "Just do as I say and keep flying!" Cid pounded the keyboard, and then he paused suddenly and held his hands to his face momentarily. Zurh walked behind him and patted his leader's shoulder. After a few moments Cid looked straight into the camera again, his green eyes filled with tears. "My children, forgive me. I lied. There is no override. I tried it before on the last round of my rescue patrol. It didn't work. It's ten minutes to launch now, and I can't let the missiles hit the Spiran cities. I'm just going to overflow the electric surge to Home, short-circuit the ICBMs, and self-destruct them myself. This will cause huge explosions. Just keep flying farther and farther to avoid any force of impact. The safest radius would be around a hundred nautical miles near the isle of Bintam."

"No! No, Pops! You said you'd come back! Y-You promised…" Rikku screamed and fell to her knees on the floor crying. Her brother was the same, hunched over the pilot seat and holding on to the pilot's yoke tightly, muttering in Al Bhed and pleading for his father.

"Now give me a stat. Where are you now?" Cid asked firmly, ignoring his children's begging.

"Thirty nautical miles before the Bintam's coast." Rikku answered, and then she pleaded again. "Pops, please don't do this…"

Cid breathed deeply, resignation pouring out of him like a man on death row with no more choice left on his plate. "That should do. Full throttle, Brother."

Lulu turned her head from the screen and from the scene unfolding before us and wiped her tears. Kimahri, Tidus, and Wakka's heads hung low; looks of sorrow on their faces. I looked straight into Cid's eyes, admiring his courage and wanting to etch him in my memory. Sacrifice. This is the ultimate act any human being could do for the sake of another. But unlike Braska's and Jecht's, no one in Spira will know the gravity of what Cid will do except the Al Bhed's. Yevon will just dismiss the explosion in Bikanel as a strange machina phenomenon brought on by the so-called heretics, not the corrupt religion's very own crime to these people who just wanted peace. I clenched my fists in anger, vowing to never let anything tar Cid's memory. Rikku and her brother though still continued to reason with their father, but there was nothing else left to do.

"I'm sorry, Rikku. I love you. This is for the best. Brother, take care of the rest." Cid said, and the video transmission suddenly faded into static and blackness.

Soon afterwards a strong turbulence hit the airship, created by the massive blast of explosions coming from Home. Rikku's scream resonated as the alarms of the airship started blaring again, directing all passengers to focus on the results of the impact to the airship. Brother lifted the yoke upwards aggressively as the ship began to descend rapidly from the sky. We felt the force of heavy gravity counteracting our descent. Everyone found a railing to hang on to as Brother desperately tried to stabilize the airship.

"Warning, warning! Reactor 2 and 3 failing. Warning, warning!" The artificial intelligence system of the airship repeated.

"Cred! Vilg!" Brother cursed and shouted his commands to the flight crew in Al Bhed. He pounded on the keyboard in front of him as his assistant pilots shouted back gauges and flight statistics.

"Emergency landing activated. Target: Bintam." The airship system announced.

"Hold to something! This is crash! Argh!" Brother shouted in broken Spiran to us as he maneuvered the airship from its vertical descent and tried to counter the heavy winds in Bintam. We touched down on the island sideways, skidding along the sand dunes for almost a kilometer. Most of us were thrown around and round violently by the impact of the rough landing. When we finally were in a stand-still, it took us a few more seconds to gain our bearings and start moving our bodies again.

I started to rise first, helping all my fellow party-members up on their feet. When I finally got to Rikku, she held my hand tightly – hers lifeless and shaking. By the time she stood up, I immediately embraced her in my arms. She dug her face to the front of my coat, the thick fabric muffling her sobs. No sound in the bridge can be heard except for her sniffles and our heaving breaths and the buzz and hum of the failing engines. For a moment, I thought time had stopped.

That was until a horrible, mocking laughter echoed in the bridge.

xxxxx

The horrid, scornful laughter came from the vile Guado Commander sitting on the corner and on the floor cuffed against a railing. The sound itself was such a sinful display. I clenched my fists to stop myself from attacking the foul anthropoid and choking the life out of him. Gippal though didn't fail to hide his anger. He looked at the Guado with more contempt than he did to me mere hours ago.

"What's so funny, you fucking bastard?" Gippal hissed, vitriol in his voice.

"What's so funny? Ah, what's so funny? You Al Bhed's are claimed to have the highest level of intelligence of all Spiran races, and you couldn't figure out such a simple thing?" The Guado Commander spat and continued to mock. "To enlighten you then. The ICBMs may have failed to launch, but you lost your Home and your beloved leader. Now tell me, who won this battle? No answer? Come on, you greasy machina monkeys, it's such as simple thing to figure–"

The Guado Commander was not even able to finish his sentence when Rikku launched herself on top of him and began punching his face unstoppably.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP, YOU PATHETIC LOWLIFE! SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Rikku threw her punches strong and wild that the Guado Commander could not even defend himself. She hit his nose, eyes, the side of his cheeks and lips. A broken nose, blood, and cuts started showing on the Guado's face, but no one had the strength to stop the little thief. It was until Rikku brandished a dagger that we realized how frayed the ends of the rope her sanity was hanging on at the moment.

"I'LL KILL YOU! ALL OF YOU! I'LL BURN GUADOSALAM TO THE GROUND AND WATCH ALL YOUR CHILDREN DIE IN FIRE!" Rikku shouted and shouted, her voice transforming into a hoarse screech as she pointed the edge of the dagger she was holding onto the Guado Commander's throat, drawing blood as the cut went deeper and deeper.

"Rikku, stop!"

"Rikku, don't!"

Everyone shouted in fear as they witnessed Rikku with a clear intent to murder the Guado Commander. Her motivation was justified; the Guado Commander simply had it coming, goading as if he had any upper hand on the situation. But for Rikku to kill such a worthless person, for her to stain her hands with his blood at all, I shuddered at the idea. Rikku's hands were meant to build magnificent things, not to kill and destroy. Knowing this, I immediately came to her side as cautiously as I could, mindful that any misstep could trigger Rikku's hand towards the breaking point.

"Rikku, don't do this..." I said gently, motioning a few more steps closer to her.

"...Why not? They took everything away from us. Why can't we do the same?" Rikku asked in clenched jaws after a prolonged silence. She motioned her left hand to the Guado Commander's throat, squeezing tight and constricting airflow. Her right hand still poised to stab the neck of the Guado, but it was shaking terribly now. Her hold of the dagger loosening as she pondered her own questions. "Why can't we make them scream their apologies? Why can't we!?"

"...Because you'll be just like them. And we – I – do not want that for you. When you are better, when your soul is so much better." I told the little thief, now seeing the cracks on her insane and murderous rage. With that in mind, I urged even more to draw her completely away from it, "Please, Rikku. Hand me the dagger." Within arm's reach, I extended my hand. After a few more seconds of hesitation, she placed the dagger she was holding on it. I motioned to squeeze her shoulder in return, but the look on her face stopped me. It was lifeless, blank, and vacant, with tears running down from her eyes and staining her cheeks.

"Rikku…" I breathed her name, breaking the silent stare that occurred between me and her. Then, as if it was her cue, Rikku bolted from the bridge and headed onto the main fuselage where the cabins were, running on top speed.

"Rikku!" Brother called out for her sister and motioned to ran after her, but I stopped him, wanting to at least provide direction to keep us moving for the meantime. There were things that needed to be done and that I could not do on my own. If it meant being a leader temporarily, then so be it.

"Wait," I ordered the Al Bhed. "Let her be for the meantime."

"But–" Brother protested.

"You are both dealing with grief and anger. It would not do well for both of you to be together at your current state of mind. Let me find her and deal with her. But before that, the airship – it needs fixing. We have to be airborne as soon as possible." I gave Brother my advice, and he grudgingly nodded in agreement, seemingly understanding the urgency we were in despite all the tragedy that happened. And then I turned to Gippal. "You. Get the Guado Commander out of sight. Make him squeal where Yuna is. Whatever it takes." Upon hearing that, surprisingly, Gippal also acquiesced. And then I addressed the rest of my Summoner party. "For sure, there are Al Bhed's onboard this airship who were injured and in recovery. If not, there would be some who might be in need of help, logistics or otherwise. Do what you all can to assist them."

Everyone left the bridge and went on their tasks slowly, as if we were all hit by a Slowga. But it was better to have this movement than to have them in low spirits moping, sulking, and doing nothing. When Gippal and the rest of my party members were out of the bridge, I walked towards Brother who was analyzing data on the interactive sphere in the middle of the room. As I went nearer, he looked at me quizzically, clearly wondering why I was beside him. "I'm not replacing your father. But you must know what needs to be done. Know that they are still your people." I told him.

"No… you… right." Brother said in broken Spiran, brushing his hand on his blonde, mohawk hair. "Save Yuna. Grieve later." He summed up what we had to do so succinctly.

"Be strong." I added and placed a hand on his shoulder. "They look up to you. Even if you don't take notice."

Brother looked at me wide-eyed for a moment with my revelation, and then he looked down and turned his head. "Just not same… without Pops."

"It will never be…" I replied, looking him square in the eye as I handed him the sharp truth. "But you must learn to live with it."

Brother looked at the interactive sphere for a long time before he nodded his head. I didn't expect him to accept the truth instantly when, after all, it was a very hard thing to swallow.

xxxxx

I walked through the hallways of the airship with no idea of where I was heading. For an instant, the long corridors seemed endless, and I began to marvel at how big the vessel was. I found stairs that led upwards and downwards and took the one that led me one level down. Past the stairs, I found myself situated on a spacious viewing deck. There were large windows far in my front. The view was of the sand dunes of Bintam. I was alone, save for one old Al Bhed lady leaning near the windows looking out. It was Nana, the woman Cid and my party rescued before we boarded the airship back in Home. I walked towards her, and as soon as she heard my footsteps, she turned to look at me. A gentle face amidst harrowing circumstances that had happened.

"If you are looking for our little princess, I saw her go two more levels down. That's where the cabins are." She told me with a small smile that it made me wonder how she could even do it. Didn't everything in the past few hours faze her? She was almost mauled by two Chimeras and devoured by a Garuda.

"I am looking for her. Thank you." I replied politely, feeling a bit out of place by disturbing her serenity as she looked at the view on the sands in front of her.

"Are you wondering how I could still stand here even after all that's happened?" She asked before I could even take my leave, and I was surprised at how she predicted my thinking. "I nursed Cid as a boy, down to his own little children. He used to say I'll live to an age when I would nurse even his grandchildren which was always a delight to me. Oh that boy, he said grand things even as a child – impossible things. That all Al Bhed's will be reunited. That we'll have a home of our own. We all thought it was truly impossible, but he made it happen."

I felt awkwardly rooted to the spot where I was standing on. "I'm sorry for your loss." I replied as a comfort, for I didn't know what else to say to her. I stayed silent and courteously listened to what she was trying to say instead.

"He said we'll move out of the desert someday. To a place where we truly belong and are accepted… somewhere where there is no blazing heat and the ground is fertile and there are trees and lakes and the winds are calm. We had never dreamt any of those dreams until he came along. We loved him so much. And she… _she_ loved him so dearly and so much." Nana looked at me then, and I finally saw her face even more clearly. Graying blonde hair, soft green eyes with swirling patterns, wrinkles on the forehead, and mild lines at the sides of her mouth. All of them reflected beauty that had aged so well.

"You are her friend, are you not?" Nana asked me, and I could only nod now that I knew who she was talking about. "Then… then let her know that she could still dream the impossible …because I have seen too much… and I cannot… I could no longer..." Nana paused so suddenly, as she wiped the tears that formed in her eyes. I gave her time to compose herself and stayed silent. Afterwards, she smiled again at me, apologetic for her unexpected display of emotion and said, "Forgive me. It's time I assist in the medical bay. Go find her, if you must."

I nodded in acknowledgement and stayed put as Nana walked to the other end of the viewing deck and entered a door. For a moment, I looked at the expanse of sand shown by the viewing deck and reflected. The Al Bhed. They were the most noble and resilient race Spira had ever known. Though continued to be discriminated after the racial war, with Cid's leadership, they were still warm and jovial and hospitable to other races. I could not fathom why, and I could only hope that despite this recent tragedy, they would still come out strong and continue to dream. Just as what Nana said.

With more resolve to find Rikku, I ventured to the cabins two levels down from the viewing deck. There was not a soul to be found on the hallways, but there were two rows of doors. Each one had a green light that I supposed indicated that it was occupied, save for one that had a blue light on at the far right end. I trusted my instinct and moved towards that door. When I was in front of it, I inhaled a breath and knocked.

"Go away!" Rikku's hoarse voice boomed from inside. At least, I guessed which cabin she was in right.

"Rikku, please let me in." I pleaded softly, placing my palm on the door.

"Leave me alone!" She insisted yet again, followed by a muffled sob.

I knew it would be a losing battle for me if she didn't open the door. Instead, I tried a different tactic. "...No, you don't really wish for that right now, do you?"

After the words came out from my mouth, Rikku suddenly opened the door grudgingly, her hair and eyes wild and red. "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE THAT YOU KNOW WHAT I–"

I did not give her time to speak. Instead, I immediately came to her and wrapped all of her in a tight embrace. She struggled against my hold for a few moments, hitting and pounding my chest, trying to wriggle out of my hold, her fiery stubbornness mixing with her anger. But through it all, I held her, brushing my hand over her golden hair a few times, wanting to comfort her and let her emotions out at the same time.

"It's alright to let it out. You have to let it out, Rikku..." I whispered to her right ear softly, my deep, normally gruff voice becoming the gentlest it had ever been.

It was then right there that everything about her countenance changed. From being a hellcat filled with rage, her whole body shook intensely and she cried, wailed, shivered, and sobbed against the front of my red coat. Knowing we could not stay standing like this for a long time, I softly closed the cabin door and maneuvered both of us to the cabin's single bed. Still holding her, I sat and leaned my back on the headboard while I motioned her body to incline perpendicular against my chest.

"Gone… He's gone! He's gone, he's gone, he's gone..." Rikku repeated over and over, and I knew that everything that happened moments ago was now starting to sink in into her head. It was not just about losing Home, more so than the fact of losing her father, her only parent left in this world.

I had to say something, but I could not find the right words. Instead, I offered a poor general description of the situation, hoping it would placate her even though I knew it would be a misguided attempt. "...He saved our lives, Rikku. All our lives, and the rest of Spira."

She sobbed even more and clutched the side of my sleeve desperately. "No, I want him back! I want him back! I want my father back…"

"...I'm so sorry" I told her, for there was nothing else I knew to say to her. _I'm so sorry I couldn't do anything_. _I'm so sorry I just stood there and watched..._

We stayed that way for a long time, with Rikku inclined on my chest. I continued to brush my hand on her golden hair hoping that it would at least soothe her. After a while, Rikku's sobbing and trembling gradually subsided into regular breathing, but I knew the pain in her was still raw. Her strong hold on my arm and sleeves also lessened that I had thought she had fallen into slumber. I released a breath that I did not know I was holding. _If only the emotion of grief and pain could be transferred, I'd be happy to carry them for her._

"Are you asleep?" I asked, not expecting an answer. But after a good five seconds, Rikku moved and shook her head.

"You should. It'll give you strength." I told her. I motioned to gently lay her on the bed and move my body to the side, but she clung to me in a tight grip.

"No! Don't leave me, please!" She said frantically, holding me tight to keep me from moving away.

"I won't, but you have to lie on the bed." I paused from my rising midway.

Rikku shook her head again still gripping my arms. "This is fine. Please don't make me move… this is fine."

"...Alright." I acquiesced, not wanting to cause her even more distress. She moved and placed her head on my chest again. I silently wondered if she could even feel the lack of a heartbeat. But that was a matter I would not rather think about at the moment.

"Rest, Rikku." I implored yet again. Still, she shook her head.

"…I hear everything. See everything. They'll come in my sleep." She told me, and I finally understood her hesitation of closing her eyes.

"No one will come after you in your sleep." I assured her.

But she shook her head again, and I realized that saying the opposite to her in her state would not do anything. I wracked my head for something that would help her. Something that would make her sleep and get her mind off of the recent events that happened. It took me a while, but after enough thinking, I finally remembered something.

"Will you trust me and close your eyes, Rikku? To rest?" I asked her.

"Why?"

"I want you to listen to my breathing. And then just listen to my voice. Whatever I do."

"…Okay."

"Are your eyes closed?"

She nodded her confirmation. I suddenly felt nervous about what I was about to do. I had not done it for the longest time, but still I knew, doing it would help Rikku. I swallowed a lump on my throat. After feeling braver, I began to hum softly though hesitantly – the melody becoming slightly off-pitch that it can be noticed by anyone with a trained ear. However, that didn't matter to me. What mattered was comforting the little thief in my arms with something that comforted me the same when I was still a child drowning in the fears of the night. This was the lullaby that my mother composed herself.

"Wha – ?" Rikku said in surprise. I knew she didn't expect what I was doing. I slightly smiled between my humming and immediately covered her mouth with my hand gently. And then I brushed my hand over her eyes, silently requesting her to close them and be still and silent.

It had been more than two decades since I hummed this lullaby. And out of all the compositions my mother created, this was the only one that I remembered the most. I didn't know how long I hummed, but as I did Rikku relaxed in turn, and I felt her head slowly falling heavy on my chest, just below my chin. Though I could not see her eyes, I knew it was a sign that she had let herself fall asleep. Wanting her to hear my mother's lullaby even through her dreams, I kept humming for ten more minutes before stopping.

When I felt that Rikku was already in a deep sleep, I took a moment to analyze the things that happened. Where were we going to go now? First, we had to know where Yuna was being held. What were Seymour's plans for her? The Guado commander we captured could provide us some information as well. That could be the start of our lead. And if needed be, I could force him to squeal this vital secret, if Gippal's rookie method of torture will not be enough. But then again, that would open a can of worms in my head _. No, don't think about that, Auron_. Sacrifices needed to be done, just as Cid did. And if that was what it will take to rescue Yuna, I would have to do it. Even if it meant opening a locked dungeon of unwanted, bad memories.

Feeling suddenly overwhelmed, I motioned to raise my left hand to brush my face and hair, a habit I usually did every time worry overtook me. Midway though, I noticed something that could have made my heart beat faster if it was still alive to do so.

Rikku intertwined the fingers of her right hand with my left. When she did so, I probably did not notice, caught up in humming her a lullaby to help her sleep. I looked at our joined hands, her petite fingers interlocked with my large ones, and an indescribable feeling lodged in my stomach. What was this that I was feeling? I tried to analyze, but I came up with nothing I knew. Was this cluelessness about this feeling I had also something I should worry about?

xxxxx

Voices. I heard voices, murmuring and in hushed tones, guiding me back from the blackness of my sleep and into reality. I opened my good eye, and I saw Brother in front of me accompanied by two other Al Bhed's, one was in black garb and the other had mechanic goggles over his head.

"Sorry. Need you… and Rikku." Brother sheepishly said. I was surprised that he was feeling embarrassed by waking me up when I was the one who told him that there was work needed to be done. Never mind the unusual position he found me and his sister in.

"Rikku," I called the little thief in my arms, gently urging her to wake up. She moaned and protested slightly, and I had to smile at this simple feat. She was always a tough one to wake up, as I had noticed during our adventure together in the sands of Bikanel. "Your brother needs your help." I told her, softly rubbing her back.

Brother took the reins and spoke in Al Bhed in a generally normal volume, and Rikku sat up straight on the bed instantly. She wiped the traces of sleep from her puffy eyes, and then fixed her hair. Afterwards she patted her face twice, her habit of making herself awake. "Alright. Let me see what I can do." She said to her brother in Spiran. Then she looked at me and probably noticed my confusion. "They need help for the graviton reactors."

"Ah." I realized. Of course, that was the cause of the crash landing and what was needed for us to be airborne again. And Rikku was a master mechanic who could really help. I looked at Brother and decided to ask, "What can I do for you?"

It took him a moment to respond. And then he looked into my one good eye. "In the brig. Gippal…"

"The Guado Commander? He still hasn't talked?" I asked Brother wanting to understand more, and I suddenly felt fear radiating from him.

Brother shook his head and said, "I not know. Not see Gippal for five hours."

I quelled the uncertainty that rose inside of me. What could be happening to Gippal? It was one thing to deal with Rikku's rage. His was another. Guilt sprang inside of me. I told Gippal to do whatever it takes to make the Guado Commander talk, out of spite for that disdainful creature. I didn't realize soon enough the implication of my words. "Thank you. I will go have a look." I told Brother and rose from the bed.

"He's on the left wing, five levels down." The Al Bhed in the black garb told me. I nodded and started my path towards the brig.

I walked out of the cabin and onto the hallways that was now populated by Al Bhed's, though sparsely. Some of them were in groups, talking to each other in low volume. There were a few children running around kicking and chasing a blitzball, happiness in ignorant bliss. I began to wonder what sort of story the grownups had told them to keep their joy intact, because such was a necessity.

I ventured into the left wing of Level 5 and after I while I noticed that things were becoming bleak compared to the upper floors. Al Bhed Rangers passed by me hurriedly, and I had to block their path so they could at least tell me where Gippal was. One hesitated for a moment, but he might have thought I was in some relation to Gippal to have asked about him, and so he divulged the information and led me to a large black steel door. The Al Bhed Ranger swiped his key card and left me without another word. I went inside and couldn't see clearly as there was no light. As I continued to step forward, I felt something soft and slippery crunch against my boots. Paying no attention to it, I called out for Gippal, wondering where he and the Guado Commander might be inside of the room.

"Gippal?" I called, but there was no answer. I moved even more forward and felt another of that soft and slippery material under my boots.

"…Step further and you'll hit a table." A voice echoed from the far left corner of the room. It was in a hushed tone that felt dark and sinister.

"Why are the lights out, Gippal?" I asked the Al Bhed Special Operative. Though I already had a feeling as to why. Two green glowing orbs floated in the dark in reply. It was that Al Bhed ability again. I focused my stare on those eyes for a good ten seconds.

"Need you ask?" The glow went away and then back again. I supposed Gippal had blinked for a moment. "Anyway, I made him talk. In two days, Seymour is planning to wed Yuna at the rooftops of the Yevon Basilica. Why though, the bloody idiot didn't know. I could only think it is Seymour's way of gaining trust and power."

No. That had everything to do with Sin. Seymour must have thought that by wedding Yuna, he would have that special bond equivalent to the bond that of a Guardian and a Summoner. His plan was to become Sin and destroy Spira and everything in it. Jecht was right all along. Two days was what we had. The airship's reactors should be fixed by then, so we could gatecrash in this most anticipated event in Bevelle and pluck Yuna away then and there. I looked at Gippal's eyes again, grateful at the valuable information he provided, yet I was feeling unease about the whole thing.

"Is the Guado Commander dead, Gippal?" I asked out loud, knowing what the full answer will be.

"…Can you hear the silence? It is almost peaceful… but no, being you, I guess you came here to see, didn't you?" He said, and the lights suddenly switched on. And there were…

Blood spattered all over the floors and on the walls. To say that it was a blood bath was an understatement. The Guado Commander laid cuffed on the table guts and bowels hanging out of his body. His eyes were carved out, his fingers and toes amputated, and his flesh and skin randomly shaved out as if by a paring knife – I looked at the floor and realized that his flesh were the pieces of soft and slippery material my boots constantly stepped on earlier. I turned my head to Gippal and realized the sort of rage he was in. I knew this rage. His glowing, green eyes reflected cold, cold fury. I knew it all too well, and a part of me wanted to reach out to the helpless soul trapped inside of him.

"To answer your question. Yes, he is dead." And then he looked at me pointedly. "I never forgive those who have sinned against my family." He said it all. And now I understood why he hated me so much when we first met.

My vision started to blur as memories surged inside my head. Screams of women. Cries of children. The painful moans of men dying. Blood on my double katanas. Blood on my hands. Blood on my black coat that I could not wash off. My father begging to spare my life and my mother's. I closed my good eye forcing them to stop. They would not. For the life of me, they would not. I knew one thing had to be done. I had to leave the brig and get away from Gippal's presence. I had to… I had to see Rikku. I had to see her smile, her bright green eyes shining with hope and trust, telling me that I was not alone in this world.

I had to find her again.

xxxxx

As I went outside of the brig, I quickly walked onto the stairs opening to the upper floors desperately wanting to escape the unwanted memories I had. When I came up one level, I saw a familiar blonde leaning against the white walls. It was Tidus, looking restless and frustrated. He saw me and immediately walked towards me, scratching his head at the same time, oblivious to the current state of mind I was in.

"Hey, Auron. Can we… can we talk for a minute?" He asked, and his eyes pleaded.

But my head was aching horribly, and I paid him no mind. I needed to be as far away from Gippal as possible. If that meant a separation of three more levels in this airship, I would do so. "Not now, Tidus." I grumbled, walking hurriedly past the Zanarkand blitzballer.

Tidus did not budge though and followed after me up on the stairs. "Yeah? Not now? When then? When am I gonna hear from you that Yuna's gonna die at the end of the pilgrimage? When we get to Zanarkand Dome? When she sacrifices herself on that spot? When she summons the Final Aeon herself – Hey, you uncaring bastard, stop and listen to me!" Tidus shouted, his volume increasing at my continued ignorance of him.

"I SAID NOT NOW!" I shouted back at the top of my lungs as I had had enough of his whining. I glared intently at the Zanarkand boy as I did so. This caused him to step back a few flights of stairs, shocked written on his face. I had never yelled at him whenever he disturbed me and he just wanted to talk, and I had never shunned him before when he needed me, even back then when were together in Zanarkand. It pained me to think that I had begun now, and I knew he would start resenting me and would distance himself from me from now on. Realizing my mistake and apologetic for failing him, I called for his name, eager to make him understand. "Tidus, I'm sorry... I can't talk right now."

"…Yeah. Right. Just go do… whatever." Tidus mumbled, defeated and confused. I watched him retreat back to another level down below the stairs. Some time later, I vowed that I had to fix this issue with him as well. But for now...

I inhaled and exhaled deeply for a few times, holding my head with my right hand. I lost my sunglasses back when Jecht transported us to Bikanel, but if I had it right now, I would have put it on just to hide the despair in my good eye. Nothing else would do for now. I looked at the empty space before me, wondering where I would find Rikku. She had said something about fixing the reactors back when we were in the cabin. So she must be there.

I saw a map of the airship posted on the opposite wall. I walked towards it and traced it with my fingers, finding the directions to the room were the reactors are located, certain that she would be there. A strange feeling settled over me, and I did not know what I was hoping for when I saw Rikku again. Still, the need to see her overpowered everything. With that, I set out to go to the engine room.

xxxxx

I was in front of the doors of the engine room thinking of how I would get in. This sudden need to see Rikku, I never thought it would make me dumb in my senses. Of course, the engine room would be restricted to personnel with keycards only. And there were no other personnel around as they were busy inside fixing the reactors, unlike in the brig where there were Al Bhed Rangers roaming around. I wanted to punch myself in my realization. I stared at the door blankly for another minute, willing it to open. But just when I was about to give up and take my leave, it did open and the person who opened it came to me as a pleasant surprise.

"Oh, it's you again. Strange how we continue to bump into each other in this airship. Still looking for Rikku?" It was Nana, her voice gentle and without suspicion despite the fact that I always seemed to be looking for Rikku when I bump into her.

"Yes." I answered politely, silently wishing that she let me come inside. And in a moment, the prayer was answered.

"Well, come on then. There's no use staying out there." She said and led me towards the door. I gasped at the view before me.

The engine room was a magnificent feature of the airship to behold. We were standing on a raised platform where two long staircases winded down on each direction. On my line of sight, three huge pillars were before me glowing in orange hues, with a darker tone at the center. The sound of mechanics doing their work – drilling, pounding, welding – filled the air. Steel scraped into steel, and everyone was in utmost concentration. I stepped even more forward, leaning into the railings and looked below. I spotted someone wearing familiar goggles by the front of the middle reactor.

It was Rikku, and as if sensing me, she looked up to see me. When she removed her goggles, I noticed that she had the same eyes as Gippal's. The ones that were bright and that lost their swirling patterns, with blue-green veins etched on the sides. For a moment, we locked eyes, but she never waved her hand. She regarded me silently, and then went back to work on the reactor.

"We call it the Rage to Master." Nana said, moving close behind me.

"Rage to Master?" I ask dumbfounded, uncertain of what she was talking about.

"The eyes you see, different from a normal Al Bhed's. It is a gift, an ability to tune out every noise and distraction in the world and concentrate all brain functions to the task at hand at a hundred percent. Only few Al Bhed's are gifted with it. But when they use it… well, certain marvels happen. Like designing and building a machina Home straight out in a desert, or… repairing an airship of unknown, advanced technology." Nana explained.

"How come no one's ever heard of it?" I asked the thing that was boggling my mind for quite some time.

"From Yevon or to any Spiran, perhaps no one did know. The Al Bhed's have their own secrets. Truthfully though, it has been almost five-hundred years since it last appeared in our bloodlines. We never know the cause. Folklore said the Rage shows up when Al Bhed's need it the most, and then it disappears again for centuries. And only the most formidable ones can control it. For when it appears, you either die or survive it." Nana added. "Cid had his when he was thirteen. Which eventually passed on to his daughter, as you can see."

"I understand." I said to Nana, finally gaining more clarity about the 'eyes' that I kept seeing.

"Oh, look! I came here to ask what the mechanics wanted for food. Apologies, I must get going. No one wants a hungry mechanic! They become quite grumpy, you know..." Nana exclaimed happily, and I had to smile at her simple thoughtfulness. It reminded me of the cook we had in the Warrior Monk Guild dormitory who always wanted to give us the best meal we ever had no matter the time of day. "You're welcome to wait for her here, dear, if you wish." She gently said, touching my arm.

"I will. Thank you." I told Nana, and she nodded before taking her leave.

I looked below again to see Rikku still hard at work. She was looking at blueprints now and scribbling something on a huge notebook. I watched her every move, willing to distract myself with her graceful movements around advanced machina that were unknown to her. Perhaps it would take a longer time before I would be able to talk to her or see her. I would not want to disturb her concentration. So with nothing to do, I sat in a lotus position and leaned on the wall of the upper platform, knowing that when she gets up the flight of stairs, she will see me. What I did not plan on was falling into another bout of unconsciousness as I waited.

xxxxx

A soft hand cupping my cheek woke me up. I suddenly felt disoriented, feeling surprised that I fell asleep at all in the engine room. My eyes adjusted to the person in front of me, wondering silently who could be waking me up. As my eyes gained focus, I saw Rikku crouching before me. She was eyeing me with concern, another mar on her now sorrowful features.

"Why are you here?" Her tone was not accusing. Instead, I detected a large dose of worry.

"I was looking for you. Then I saw you here, and you seemed like you could not be bothered. I waited and watched over you instead." I told her. Now that my eyes had taken in the dimness of the area we were in, I saw her face more clearly. Her irises were still in a solid color of bright green, without the swirling patterns of a typical Al Bhed; instead, they were large and seemingly dilated. Blue-green veins etched the skin at the sides of her face still.

The Rage to Master. A powerful Al Bhed ability completely unknown to Yevon or to any average Spiran. This was the second time I saw eyes like these today. Though Gippal's reflected the emotion of rage the term coined by the ability itself, Rikku's on the other hand were calm and collected, a living oxymoron. I found hers unusually beautiful, and I failed to stop myself when I reached out my hand to cup the side of her face, my thumb sliding across the visible veins.

Rikku flinched, surprised by my touch. Then her eyes reflected that she didn't mean to do so. "Sorry, my eyes are still strange, aren't they?"

"They're not strange. The Rage to Master. It is a unique ability, a gift as your Nana would say."

"Mm, more like a curse to me. And right now, I can't seem to switch it off." Rikku said, squinting her eyes embarrassingly.

"Does it hurt you when you use it? I remember back in the Eastern Front's brig that Gippal held his head as if he was in tremendous pain."

"Oh, that." Rikku thought for a moment. "It... hurts like hell the first time it shows. Like intense headache due to a metastasized brain tumor. Mine doesn't anymore. It first showed when I was five, after my Mom's death."

"The first time it shows? You mean to say I triggered Gippal's Rage to Master?" I asked before I could even stop myself. _You idiot, Auron_. _Of course, knowing what you know now, you damn well triggered it_.

"...I dunno. Sometimes the Rage just pops out in an Al Bhed when we experience intense emotions. Sometimes, chemicals in our brain randomly converge to let it out. We are never really certain about the cause." Rikku explained futher.

Feeling the need to divert the topic at hand, I said, "I see. What time is it, if I may ask?"

"A little quarter past three." She said, rubbing her eyes, while looking at her wristwatch.

"Are you through repairing the reactors?"

"Nearly. It was very difficult and it took a while, but I think we've got it now. We're cooling the reactors down to test in a couple of hours." Rikku explained, followed by a long yawn.

I noticed her depleted energy, and so I said, "You should rest. It's late. I'll walk you to your cabin."

"No, no... actually... I am very hungry." Rikku confessed shyly. "Would you care for some chocolate coffee? I think I'll be needing twenty cups."

I suddenly blinked at her admission, unsure of whether she was joking or not. Twenty cups of chocolate coffee? That would be enough to make a shoopuf go haywire.

"Don't give me that face. This Rage thing needs a lot of calories for fuel, you know. And all this brain power makes me want to eat like crazy." Rikku punched my arm playfully.

"Of course." I smiled, feeling a little lighter at the unexpected banter Rikku and I were having. Still, there was sadness in her voice that I could detect. But that was understandable considering what she just went through the past half of the day.

"I mean, if it's ok for you to accompany me…" She added, a little too quietly.

I bit my tongue to stop myself from asking why she thought it was not alright for me at this moment to accompany her. Instead, I rose to my feet and said, "Lead the way, you hungry mechanic." Rikku smiled back, and she grabbed my hand.

We walked towards the right end of the corridor outside of the engine room and through another door. This led to a small pantry and a kitchenette where there were a few tables, a small couch beside a wall, and counters with sinks. There was an espresso machine on top of the counter at the far end. Rikku opened the cupboards, took out a bag of Besaid coffee beans, and grabbed some mugs from the utensil rack.

"Auron, why were you waiting in the engine room?" She asked with her back towards me.

"...To see how you are. And…" I swallowed a lump on my throat. I did not really know why I was looking for her. Or rather, I did know, and I just did not want to tell her.

"And?" She switched on the espresso machine, and then she moved to the small refrigerator and took out some milk, cream, and chocolate bar.

"...This is hard to say without me telling something about myself." I admitted hesitantly.

"Then tell me." Rikku finally turned towards me. Eyes still as the Rage, though kind and unassuming.

"Everything that happened… triggered memories I did not want to remember." I told her, trying to not to be as far from the truth as possible. And then I looked back at her with my good eye. She stared back with her own bright green ones. It took a moment for us to break each other's gaze, but when we did, I knew she understood what I tried to say.

"The Guado Commander, is he still alive?" Rikku asked, holding a knife as she shaved some crumbs of chocolate from a large chocolate bar.

I looked at her hands as she did this, mesmerized by such a simple task. "No, not anymore. Gippal killed him after he divulged the plans they had for Yuna."

"And where is Yunie now though?"

"In Bevelle. Seymour is planning to marry her in two days."

She paused and thought for a moment. The espresso machine alarmed, signaling that it was now ready to flow some coffee. She moved the mugs towards the tubes. "Just in time to stop it then. The reactors will be up and running in a few hours. And then…"

"We'll plan how to best rescue Yuna. I assume right now she is locked in the Yevon fortress with heavy security. It would be better if we gatecrash the wedding and pluck her out then and there from the rooftops of the Basilica."

"Mm. Sounds like a good plan." Rikku nodded. She took a can of whip cream, shook it, and sprayed the substance on the mugs. Afterwards, she sprinkled the chocolate she shaved over the top of the cream. When she was done, she paused and looked at me again. Bright green eyes filled with confusion. "Auron, is it wrong for me to feel hate for them? For Seymour? For the whole of Guado?"

"No, you have every right to. Everyone grieves in different ways and stages. But you must someday come to a point to let it go; else it will ruin your good heart." I answered her the best I could, while she handed me my own cup of chocolate coffee.

"I don't know what I feel anymore. They're all together. Hatred. Anger. Sadness. They're all mixed inside of me. Brother... he says he wants a small memorial service for what happened. Though I don't think I should go."

"Some would find it as a closure."

"It doesn't change anything if I'm there. And if you don't have the ability to forget, how would you ever have closure?" She asked sharply, closing her eyes as pain laced her own voice.

"Letting the demons out of the dungeons of the mind sometimes helps to keep them from haunting one's head. Trust me, Rikku, I know that all too well." I told her slowly and calmly, wanting her to understand my point of view.

"I just… don't want to be reminded." She hesitantly admitted. And then she took her mug and moved towards the couch near the wall and sat down.

I followed after her and did the same, sitting beside her, our knees touching together. "I understand."

There was a comfortable silence between us for a few minutes. I took the moment to savor the coffee Rikku made as I had never had something like it before. She, on the other hand, I supposed, was happy to be with her own thoughts for a while without actually being alone. And I was glad. Glad that I was right in finding her. Glad that there was no one in the pantry but the two of us. Seeing her and being with her at this moment dulled the unwanted memories I had remembered earlier. They retreated to the back to the deepest recesses of my mind.

"Auron? The lullaby you hummed to make me fall asleep earlier, was it your mother's?" Rikku asked, softly and shyly, as if she was intruding my privacy.

"Yes. It is the only thing I can remember from her musical compositions."

"...It is beautiful." She said, while looking away that I almost thought I did not hear her. But I did, and my dead heart warmed at the thought that something from my past comforted her in her time of need.

"Thank you. Though I believe my voice or lackthereof mars its beauty." I chuckled, trying to make light of our conversation despite the seriousness of where it might lead.

"No, it's from you. It's… perfect." Rikku said. And then a pause. "Can you take me to your home someday? I'd like to see where you had your childhood."

"...It would be a pleasure to take you. But there's nothing left of it, Rikku." I told her, and then I leaned back on the wall behind me, looking up to the ceiling to avoid meeting her gaze.

"What do you mean?" She asked, leaning over to me that she was already at the center of my line of sight despite my previous effort.

I closed my eyes for a moment as I tried to remember Vakarus. But I came up with nothing. "It is gone. The whole of Vakarus is now buried underneath the seas. Through a huge tidal wave by Sin long ago."

Her eyes went wide upon my revelation. And then she looked away, busying herself by sipping her coffee. It took her a minute of silence before responding again. "I am sorry, Auron... Another thing we have in common now then."

"Being homeless?"

"And orphaned."

I swallowed a lump on my throat, knowing how accurate her description was. What an odd thing we were, bonded by the same sort of tragedy. "I would never wish it upon you, Rikku. But considering the current circumstances, yes, I believe so." _But never had I felt more home again than when I am with you, and never had I felt like I belong when you are with me._

We drank our coffees in another comfortable silence after that. I finished mine first, and I motioned to rise from my seat to place the mug on the counter top. Rikku though held my arm and stopped me from moving farther than a step. I fixed my gaze at her, concerned by her action.

"Auron… don't leave, please." She breathed out softly, hand on my arm.

"I won't. I'll stay right here. Even if you fall asleep here on this couch, I'm staying until you wake up." I assured her, placing my hand on top of hers, hoping it would placate her.

But she shook her head and desperately she said, "No. Don't ever leave me. Promise me, Auron, please."

Realization finally hit me by what she truly meant with her request. I felt my mouth go dry as I forced myself to say back the words she wanted to hear at this moment. Her eyes looked at my good brown one with so much hope, wanting me to catch her in this fall. And I wanted to as well. So I did and said what I always wanted to say.

"Rikku, I won't ever leave you."

It was the first lie that I had spoken to her that I truly wanted to believe.

 **AN: So, how was it? I know it is super loooong, but I did not want to cut it and make another Rikku POV in Bikanel as the next plan was to have a Tidus POV for the next chapter and move the story with him and Yuna. Any likes and dislikes? Drop me a review and let me know your thoughts about this chappie. Don't worry, if the length bothers you, just shout out there, and I'll try to keep things short, if you wish.**

 **I'm sorry I had to kill Cid. I was hesitating, but I decided to, to show how devastating the attack on Al Bhed Home was. I believe I put a hefty amount of gore inside here as well. If it offended you, I'm sorry. I can't promise it won't happen again though. (^_^)**

 **Are you wondering and imagining what sort of lullaby Auron could hum? Wonder no further! Follow this link, and you'll know what I mean. I literally just created an account on soundcloud to upload this. Just imagine Auron humming this in a baritone pitch. (Remove the spaces and replace the forward slashes with actual slashes so you could follow the link).**

 **HyperTextTransferProtocolSecure : forwardslash forwardslash sound cloud dot com forwardslash user-557113601**

 **Wish me luck on the next chapter, guys, as I haven't written a single word on it yet. :) Thanks for still reading, folks! Until next time!**

 **Sorry for reposting numerous times guys. I needed to get the link I provided right. Ta ta! :)**


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